Is Fentanyl in the Australian Workplace?

Is Fentanyl in the Australian Workplace 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is prescribed by medical practitioners as a powerful medication for pain management. There are two types of fentanyl - pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

The fentanyl crisis in the US began back in 2012 in Dayton Ohio with a series of unexplained deaths, which were in actuality accidental drug overdoses. By 2015 the crisis had taken hold with over 250 people in the same region dying each year from fentanyl drug overdoses. In the US experts are referring to it as mass poisoning rather than a drug epidemic. Highlighting the lethal and insidious nature of fentanyl.

In the US, fentanyl patches are prescribed for pain relief, but are a popular way for illegal drug users to abuse the drug, which has almost completely taken over from heroin. The misuse of patches is also becoming popular within Australia. Stopping supply chains is extremely difficult, with poorly regulated Chinese labs sending pure grade fentanyl to the US through the mail. This provides the perfect getaway for opportunistic drug dealers and a huge problem for authorities trying to regulate it . With a kilo of fentanyl costing 50 times less than the same amount of heroin with the same potency, it’s not difficult to see the attraction for the rampant and illegal drug market. Fentanyl then makes its way from the states to Australia via the darknet and the illegal drug retail websites still operating.

The Fentanyl Crisis

The fentanyl crisis is not just applicable to the US. Here in Australia we are starting to see the signs of fentanyl abuse also. Australia historically follows similar drug harm patterns like the US and Canada and Australian health authorities issued a warning in 2020 as fentanyl began to appear (once again) in accidental drug overdoses. Addicts were unaware that the cheaper option of fentanyl had been mixed with amphetamines and heroin. The problem with fentanyl is that other drugs, even stimulant drugs such as cocaine and speed, can easily be cut with the powerful synthetic opioid. Fentanyl is much stronger and cheaper than common drugs of abuse. Some refer to fentanyl as “heroin on steroids”. It’s easy to see how fentanyl can and will find its way into many illicit drugs. Putting recreational drug users at risk who would traditionally use drugs that fall into the classification of stimulants such as Amphetamines and methamphetamines. So, expect to see fentanyl present in more workplace testing.

So how do we stop it?

It is recommended that proven harm strategies and increased awareness be raised in community programs, in addition to the inclusion of fentanyl testing for workplace testing.

Drug Testing

Workplace drug testing could most certainly provide an unexpected aid in community awareness, with all - ‘presumptive positive’- results sent to authorised labs for confirmatory testing. The lab then provides a breakdown of what the actual specimen contains. This could prove invaluable to the community, providing further avenues of drug awareness. There are drug tests now available on the market that will test specifically for Fentanyl. This could be important especially from a recreational user's perspective, unaware they are using stimulants or opioids containing something as harmful as fentanyl. Medinat provides the Maxi Clear 15 urine drug test cup - a ground-breaking drug urine test kit detecting 15 different drugs of abuse, including Fentanyl.

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