Opioid Crisis Awareness and Resources
For students interested in obtaining Narcan (naloxone) or a fentanyl test strip, please visit the Student Health Services office. Our team is available to provide these resources and answer any questions you may have about their use and benefits.
What are Opioids?
Opioids are “narcotic” drugs that relieve pain by decreasing the intensity of pain signals that reach the brain. They can also affect regions of the brain that control breathing and emotion. Opioids can be prescribed by doctors to treat pain and diarrhea, put people to sleep, and repress cough. Opioids include prescription medications such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), morphine, fentanyl, codeine, methadone, buprenorphine, and hydrocodone (Vicodin®). They also include illicit substances such as heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. The effects of opioids can create a general sense of well-being and decrease anxiety, aggression, and tension. While these attributes may be helpful in a therapeutic setting, they can contribute to opioid misuse (used not as prescribed) and produce undesired effects such as apathy, difficulty concentrating, and drowsiness. Both the pain relief and harmful effects of opioids become more noticeable with larger doses of an opioid. The regular use of opioids can cause psychological dependence and increase a person’s tolerance to the drug. Misuse of prescription and/or illicit opioids can result in a substance use disorder (SUD).
- Short-term effects:
- slowed breathing (“respiratory depression”)
- slowed physical activity
- nausea
- vomiting
- constipation
- Long-term effects:
- substance use disorder or dependence
- increased tolerance
- infertility in women
- liver damage
- worsening pain (known as “opioid-induced hyperalgesia”)
- life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in babies born to mothers taking opioids
- fatal overdose
- Early withdrawal from opioids includes symptoms such as sweating, runny nose, yawning,
and watery eyes. As withdrawal progresses, symptoms may include:
- nausea
- vomiting
- loss of appetite
- restlessness
- increased heart rate and blood pressure
- drug craving
- irritability
- chills alternated with excessive sweating and flushing
- Withdrawal symptoms can be managed through medical care, including the use of drugs such as clonidine, methadone, and buprenorphine.
- slowed breathing
- clammy and cold skin
- convulsions
- constricted pupils
- confusion
- extreme drowsiness
- Treatment
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) refers to medications used in combination with behavioral therapies and counseling. MAT is effective in treating opioid use disorder. Medications for opioid use disorder include buprenorphine (Suboxone®, Subutex®), methadone, and extended-release naltrexone (Vivitrol®).
- Mixing drugs is dangerous
- Mixing opioids with other central nervous system depressants such as alcohol, xylazine, or benzodiazepines (e.g., Xanax or Valium) can increase the risk of a drug overdose by slowing breathing and causing sedation. Risk of brain damage, damage to other organs, impaired cognitive function, and death also increases when mixing depressants.
- Mixing opioids with stimulants (e.g., ecstasy [MDMA], methamphetamine, cocaine) increases the risk of overdose because combining the drugs can have unpredictable results and may trick someone into thinking that the drugs have no effect on them.
- Opioid Overdose
- An opioid overdose may occur when someone uses an illicit opioid, misuses a prescription opioid, uses an opioid or other drug that is contaminated with a more potent opioid (e.g., fentanyl), does not understand the directions for use, or takes the opioid as told but the prescriber miscalculated the dose of the opioid.
- Other risk factors for opioid overdose include taking opioids by injection, resuming opioid use after a period of abstinence (e.g., after detoxification or stopping treatment), using a high prescribed dosage of opioids, using prescription opioids without medical supervision, and having a concurrent medical condition such as a liver or lung disease, mental health condition, or HIV.
- Learn more about drug-related overdose, including signs of overdose and how to respond using naloxone.
- Naloxone
- Naloxone can be used to reverse an opioid overdose and is available as a nasal spray, an injectable needle solution, or an auto-injector.
- Negative Health Consequences
- Misuse of prescription and/or illicit opioids can lead to harmful health effects.
What is naloxone?
Naloxone is a life-saving medication used to reverse an opioid overdose, including heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid medications. Naloxone can be quickly given through nasal spray (Narcan®) in the nose, or through an injectable or auto-injector into the outer thigh or another major muscle. Naloxone is safe and easy to use, works almost immediately, and is not addictive. Naloxone has very few negative effects, and has no effect if opioids are not in a person’s system.
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- Family and friends: If you or someone you know is at increased risk for opioid overdose, especially those with opioid use disorder (OUD), you should carry naloxone and keep it at home.
- People who are taking high-dose opioid medications (greater or equal to 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day) prescribed by a doctor, people who use opioids and benzodiazepines together, and people who use drugs, should all carry naloxone. Because you cannot use naloxone on yourself, let others know you have it in case you experience an opioid overdose.
- Carrying naloxone provides an extra layer of protection for those at a higher risk for overdose. Although most professional first responders and emergency departments carry naloxone, they may not arrive in time to reverse an opioid overdose. Anyone can carry naloxone, give it to someone having an overdose, and potentially save a life. Bystanders such as friends, family, non-health care providers and persons who use drugs can reverse an opioid overdose with naloxone.
The facts about fentanyl
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Visit the page Protect yourself from the dangers of fentanyl to learn more.
There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids (made in a laboratory). Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer. However, most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdose are linked to illegally made fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.
- Synthetic opioids like fentanyl contribute to nearly 70% of overdose deaths.3 Even in small doses, it can be deadly. Over the last few years, nonfatal and fatal overdoses involving fentanyl have continued to rise. Drugs may contain deadly levels of fentanyl, and you wouldn't be able to see it, taste it, or smell it. It is nearly impossible to tell if drugs have been mixed with fentanyl unless you test your drugs with fentanyl test strips.
- Test strips to detect fentanyl are inexpensive and typically give results within 5 minutes, which can be the difference between life or death. Even if the test is negative, take caution as test strips might not detect more potent fentanyl-like drugs, like carfentanil.
More Information from the CDC or CDPH:
