OFFICIAL NAMES: Fentanyl

STREET NAMES: Brand names include Actiq, Alfenta, Duragesic, Oralet, Sublimaze, and Sufenta. Street terms include Apache, China girl, China town, China white, dance fever, friend, goodfellas, great bear, He-man, jackpot, king ivory, Mexican brown, murder 8, P-dope, Persian white, P-funk, poison, synthetic heroin, Tango & Cash, TNT, tombstone

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Schedule I or II, narcotic analgesic

Overview

Fentanyl is a very powerful synthetic opioid analgesic routinely used legally for anesthesia. The amount of fentanyl that could fit on the head of a pin is enough to kill ten people. It is a member of the narcotic analgesic class of drugs that reduce pain. Today it is used in 70% of the surgeries performed in the United States. It has been administered since the early 1970s for prenatal use. Since 1991 it has also been used to treat chronic pain associated with cancer or other terminal...