After the alleged first seizure of fentanyl in Brazil, in February, evidence of earlier use of the drug emerged, which indicates that it may have been circulating in the hands of drug dealers for some time already. According to data disclosed by Folha de São Paulo, the substance is even being used with the so-called synthetic marijuana.
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Fentanyl
Fentanyl is a drug originally developed for sedation in surgeries and in the treatment of extreme pain. However, as it is extremely potent, at least 50 times more potent than morphine, and addictive, it has been adopted by drug dealers to increase profits by making their clients even more addicted. Often, they do that by mixing the sedative with other drugs, especially because fentanyl cannot be smelled or tasted.
The fact that the drug is potent makes it quite dangerous in comparison with other drugs, because someone can overdose with an amount as small as 1 gram. Sometimes, overdose can even be accidental, since a person can absorb it by smelling.
Brazil
In Brazil, fentanyl has been found exactly in this form, as a mixture to potentiate drugs. There are reports of the product being used in k2, a synthetic cannabinoid, and in cocaine.
In February, the Espírito Santo Civil Police found 31 flasks with the anesthetic that were legally produced in Minas Gerais and acquired by a hospital in Vitória. It would have been stolen and sent to a drug dealer, with whom the substance was seized. The episode was called the first apprehension of fentanyl in Brazil. But it has already been identified for some time by investigators and researchers.
Previous Cases
The Unicamp Information and Toxicological Assistance Center has already received several people in the last three months who were surprised to have fentanyl detected in their blood. The patients confirm having consumed drugs, but not fentanyl nor having undergone a sedation process. Therefore, the Center believes that the substance is being mixed with the other drugs that the patients had.
In São Paulo, between 2020 and 2022, 1,229 bottles of the substance, totaling 12.2 liters, were seized by the State Department for the Prevention and Repression of Drug Trafficking (Denarc). This year, there was an arrest on February 8, in Carapicuíba, in Greater São Paulo, resulting in the collection of 810 grams.
K2
Among the drugs with which fentanyl has been mixed with is K2, the synthetic marijuana that is extremely strong and puts its consumers in a zombie-like state after smoking. Police authorities say that since it is something new in the Brazilian market, each dealer has his own recipe to prepare the drug. The dealer can add something different to the formula, it can be cocaine, fentanyl or other substances of their like.
Our Analysis:
Many cities across the country have been dealing with the so-called “Cracolândias”, locations in urban spaces where drug addicts and drug dealers meet to buy, sell, and consume drugs. Even though the most famous site is in the central area of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro has many similar agglomerations of consumers and sellers of illegal substances. In the “Cracolândias” all the drugs can be found, but they are notorious for offering the cheapest and most addictive ones to poor people, such as crack. The locations also have connections with small crimes, such as robberies, thefts, burglaries, and prostitution. It is fundamentally a health problem, but it exacerbates security issues. If a drug like fentanyl reaches these areas more effectively, the consequences could be felt in crime rates around them.
