To understand the extent to which this new chapter of the opioid crisis has impacted Americans, one must understand the mechanisms responsible for the addictive and lethal nature of this compound. Fentanyl is classified as an opioid. Opioids include naturally occurring drugs, such as morphine (a drug originating from the opium plant), modified versions of these compounds, and entirely synthetic substances. However, these drugs are all similarly structured and hence perform a similar function: they bind to and agonize opioid receptors in the central nervous system. These receptors are responsible for signaling nociceptors, pain receptors, to inhibit the production of neurotransmitters responsible for alerting the organism of pain or injury. Opioid receptors agonize when specific neurotransmitters, such as endorphins [endogenous morphine], bind to them. When exogenous opioids bind to opioid receptors, they perform a similar function: reduce pain and stimulate feelings of pleasure and euphoria. However, synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, are optimized for this, therefore, their physiological effects are heightened. And along with it, the risk of addiction and overdose.

Fentanyl has long been regarded as the deadliest drug the United States has encountered, as it is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Accordingly, it is not surprising that of over 100,000 substance overdoses in the United States in 2022, 67% of them were from synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. Once opioids travel through the nervous system to the brain’s mesolimbic system, the nervous system’s inherent “reward system,” the quick alleviation of pain and replacement with euphoria presents itself as a simple solution for consumers, causing most to return to them again and again. However, said person’s neurons will simultaneously adjust to the repeated consumption of opioids, rendering it the new status quo for their body. At this point, it is much harder to recover from the newfound addiction to opioids, as no longer taking them will kick their neurons into overdrive, causing feelings of anxiety as opposed to pleasure, and meanwhile causing the body significant harm. The wide-scale destructive capacity of fentanyl can not be understated; however, when viewed at a more local scale, fentanyl’s effects become even more cataclysmic.