"You Never Know What You're Getting": Opioid Users' Perceptions of Fentanyl in Southwest Pennsylvania. (12th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McLean, Katherine; Monnat, Shannon M.; Rigg, Khary; Sterner, Glenn E.; Verdery, Ashton
• Is Part Of: Substance use & misuse. Volume 54:Number 6(2019)
• Page Start: 955
• Page End: 966
• Publication Date: 2019-05-12
• Subjects: Fentanyl -- heroin -- prescription opioids -- overdose -- harm reduction; Narcotic habit -- Periodicals; Alcoholism -- Periodicals; Substance abuse -- Periodicals; Behavior, Addictive -- Periodicals; Sustance-Related Disorders -- Periodicals; 362.2905
• DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2018.1552303
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1082-6084

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Urban areas in the United States have experienced a dramatic surge in fentanyl overdose deaths since 2014, a trend affecting both larger and smaller metropolitan areas. Encompassing only 1.2 million residents, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, nevertheless saw 412 fentanyl-involved deaths in 2016, a number surpassed only by New York City and Cook County (Chicago), Illinois. Objectives: This article seeks to describe opioid users' perceptions of fentanyl in Allegheny and three adjacent counties; it further considers how the drug's emergence shapes some users' market behaviors and consumption practices. Methods: This article reports on qualitative interview data ( N = 30) collected as part of a larger, multi-phase, mixed methods study ( N = 125) among individuals reporting past-year prescription opioid misuse or heroin use in four southwest Pennsylvania Counties. Results: Most interviewees reported past-year suspected exposure to fentanyl, and many reported suffering or seeing suspected fentanyl overdoses. Where roughly one-third reported strategies for avoiding fentanyl, a small group of interviewees identified advantages to fentanyl, while still acknowledging its associated risks. Conclusions/Importance: Given users' diverse opinions around fentanyl, the distribution of fentanyl test strips may represent an effective response to the current crisis.