Fentanyl has become one of the deadliest drugs in America over the past couple of years. Specifically, the fentanyl crisis in California poses a high risk as it aggressively grows, causing detriment to the lives of many.

The war against drugs is one that humanity may never get the pleasure to stop fighting. Although many drugs started out as a form of medicine, a lot of drugs today are manufactured, bought, and sold illegally. Fentanyl is one of the most dangerous illicit drugs that is currently being abused. The chaos and detriment being caused by fentanyl is widespread across the United States.

The dangers associated with this drug are infinite. As more and more people are being educated, the fight against the spread of fentanyl is growing stronger. However, as many are still coming in contact with and becoming addicted to the drug, more work must somehow be done. 

What Is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a dangerously addictive synthetic opioid. It is said that it can be much stronger than certain drugs, such as heroin, and even stronger than morphine. This is why the illicit drug has grown so popular.

Fentanyl was originally created as a pharmaceutical drug to treat patients with severe pain. It was prescribed for those recovering from surgery, bad accidents, and cancer patients. In its illegally manufactured form, it is distributed because of its ability to surpass other drugs in its euphoric relief and instant dependency. There is a constant demand and, even with its health risks, the unnerving desire that it brings is undeniable once you make contact with it. 

Fentanyl Crisis in California: Statistics of Fentanyl Use and Overdoses

Fentanyl in the United States is essentially replacing heroin. In California, there is a growing availability of fentanyl. Also in California, a 270 percent increase has been reported in overdoses that are opioid-related over the last several years, with some resulting in survival and others unfortunately in death. 

While fentanyl was created to treat severe pain in hospitals, it continues to wind up in the wrong hands. When manufactured illicitly, fentanyl can be taken even without the knowledge of it. Because of the level of potency, the drug is sometimes sold to the buyer who thinks they have purchased another drug. For instance, someone may think that they are buying marijuana, but after using the drug they find that it was laced with fentanyl. In other cases the sold drug is not even laced, it is just the fentanyl but said to be something else. This is oftentimes how individuals become addicted to the drug as well. 

The probability of addiction to fentanyl has determined it to be a terrifyingly increasing public health threat. Some signs of fentanyl addiction are:

• slow or lethargic movement
• weight loss
• poor hygiene
• nausea
• shaking
• confusion
• negative behavior change (doing anything to get more of the drug) 

Finding the Help You Need at Laguna Shores Recovery Center if Affected by the Fentanyl Crisis in California

Those struggling with this substance may feel helpless and hopeless. Addiction can send you into a downward spiral that seems to not offer a way back up. However, treatment programs are available to help you get sober and remove the presence of fentanyl from your life.  

Facilities like Laguna Shores Recovery Center can help you get back to a place where you can choose a sober life. Let us help you choose you again. Here, we offer detox to help you stop using and allow the drug to safely pass through your system safely. We also offer in-patient treatment where you can receive support and guidance from professional supervision and even counseling. Treatment for dual diagnosis is also offered if you are suffering from mental illness which may have initiated the drug dependence. 

Always know that you are not alone. Many others have found themselves dependent on drugs, alcohol, or both. This is why, aside from individual therapy, we offer group therapy as well. Traveling this journey with others can sometimes be the muscle you need to pull through. Your experience can help someone else just as theirs can help heal you.

Taking the First Step: You Can Do This

Living in active addiction is not actually living. You are merely existing only to get to your next high. While wrapped in the tunnels of that euphoric dystopia fentanyl has created in your mind, it can seem like you’re on top of the world. However, you realize just how you really feel the moment you come down. 

You do not have to stay in this loop. We can help you find joy in life outside of that dystopia. If you are afraid to take that first step that is okay. The unknown can be just as scary as an uncomfortable reality. It comes down to which fear is worse. Would you rather continue to face a false sense of happiness that could end in losing your life? Or would you rather try treatment and be given the gift of a new life? 

If this resonates with you and you want to live again we are here to show you the way. Our personalized treatment plan will be tailored to you and your specific needs. When you heal, the lives of those attached to you will also. So let us help free you, and you free another. 

Drug addiction and overdose is a growing epidemic in America and elsewhere. Fentanyl is threatening and taking the lives of people every single day. Due to its potency, fentanyl is very addictive. So the demand for it in its illicit form continues to grow. More approaches are being taken to educate and promote awareness of the brutality of this drug. However, the availability of it seems to continue to grow. The fentanyl crisis in California is causing many to face the fight of their lives. If you or someone you know is suffering from fentanyl addiction, please reach out to Lugana Shores Recovery Center for help. You can reach us at 954-688-5806.