Fentanyl is used in Mexico's northern border: current challenges for drug health policies

Autor:	Alfonso Chavez, Luis A Segovia, Juan R. De La Fuente, Clara Fleiz, Jorge A Villatoro, María Elena Medina-Mora, Silvia L. Cruz, Lilia Pacheco, Jaime Arredondo
Rok vydání:	2020
Předmět:	White powder Population 030508 substance abuse Medicine (miscellaneous) Fentanyl Heroin 03 medical and health sciences chemistry.chemical_compound 0302 clinical medicine Tar (tobacco residue) Black tar heroin Paraphernalia mental disorders Humans Medicine 030212 general & internal medicine Substance Abuse Intravenous education Mexico Reagent Strips education.field_of_study Traditional medicine business.industry Meth Psychiatry and Mental health chemistry Drug Contamination 0305 other medical science business medicine.drug
Zdroj:	Addiction. 115:778-781
ISSN:	1360-0443 0965-2140
DOI:	10.1111/add.14934
Popis:	Background and aims Results from a recent study among 750 heroin users in three Mexico's northern border cities revealed an increase in white powder availability (also known as China white) and preference for this product among heroin users, as well as a general perception of increased overdose cases among this population. Here, we questioned whether those findings reflect an increased presence of heroin laced with fentanyl, which is associated with greater risks of overdose but that, until now, has not been described in Mexico. Design We tested fentanyl using highly sensitive test strips in syringe plungers, metal cookers and drug wrappings associated with heroin use. Setting Three injection sites in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Participants Eighty-nine heroin users who interchanged paraphernalia for new syringes. Measurements We tested 59 residues of 'pure' white powder. The rest were white powder with black tar (n = 5) or white powder with crystal meth (n = 9), black tar with crystal meth (n = 1), black tar only (n = 13) and crystal meth only (n = 2). Findings Users believed that they consumed either white powder heroin, white powder heroin with crystal meth, white powder with black tar heroin or black tar heroin only. Analyses revealed that 93% (n = 55) of the 'pure' white powder samples had fentanyl. All (n = 9) the white powder samples mixed with crystal meth and 40% (n = 2) of the white powder with black tar were also laced with fentanyl. Conclusions In a sample of 89 heroin users in Mexico, most white powder heroin users were unknowingly exposed to fentanyl, with fentanyl detected in 93% of white powder samples.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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