W INTER 2016
P AGE 11
Fentanyl: A Dangerous Element in the Opioid Epidemic
The deadly opiate is mixed with heroin
Matthew Burbine
Staff Writer
According the Massachusetts State
Police (as initially reported by WBURFM), Fentanyl the powerful and deadly
synthetic opiate, was present in 336 of
the people who died of an overdoes in
the 12-month-period ending October
6, 2015; a 50 percent increase from
the previous 12-month-period.
potent than morphine. The National
Institute on Drug Abuse warns that
cutting heroin with fentanyl magnifies
its potency and greatly increases the
danger of an overdose. The CDC has
determined that in 2014, Massachusetts had the second highest number of
seizures due to illegally possessed
fentanyl, which resulted in 630 confiscations of the drug. The fentanyl problem has become so serious that the
CDC issued a nationwide health advisory outlining the dangers and recommending ways to prevent fentanylrelated deaths.
Fentanyl is often mixed with heroin in
order to create white heroin, according to masslive.com. The Center for
Disease Control (CDC) states that
fentanyl is prescribed to people with
On November 24, Governor Charlie
chronic pain associated with advanced Baker signed a law that made traffickcancer, and it is 50 to 100 times more ing in fentanyl a crime. According to
masslive.com, “possession and distribution of fentanyl was already a crime,
punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The new law increases the penalty to
20 years in prison for someone distributing more than 10 grams.…” Fentanyl
trafficking is a growing problem in this
state. In October, a Massachusetts man
was arrested for being connected to a
major drug operation where 2,500
grams of pure fentanyl, more than 900
pills, two guns and over $73,000 in
cash were seized by police (according
to masslive.com). Opioid abuse is one
of the most pressing health and public
safety problems facing Massachusetts.
Hopefully, this new legislation will
deter fentanyl trafficking, and in turn,
reduce the number of overdose deaths.
Fentanyl patch packages from several
german generic drug manufacturers. By
Alcibiades (Own work) [Public domain
via Wikimedia Commons]
Winners Lose When They Use PEDs
Devastating Effects on Reputation, Health and Wallet
Bryson Andrews
Contributor
Based on his performance on the field,
Barry Bonds was one of the best professional baseball players of all time.
However, because it is widely believed
that he used performance enhancing
drugs (PEDs), he may have trouble
getting voted in the National Baseball
Hall of Fame, and he is not the only
one. Athletes who use, or may have
used, illegal PED’s to increase their
advantage on the playing fields, risk
taking a very damaging hit to their
reputations.
According to an article by Dr. Benjamin Wedro in Emedicinehealth.com,
“Anabolic steroids refer to hormones,
taken either orally or by injection, that
influence the body’s hormonal system
to produce extra testosterone.” Athletes use this type of steroid to increase strength because they make
muscles grow faster, but in reality they
are destroying their hormone system
by interfering with their cells’ homeostasis. It has very dangerous side effects
on a person’s health, and most professional sports associations have banned
them. They are also illegal without a
prescription.
According to an article written by Dan
Peterson at LiveScience.com,
“Anabolic steroids, perhaps the most
commonly known PED, are synthetic
derivations of the naturally produced
hormone testosterone.” Testosterone
helps to grow muscles and is involved
in the onset of male puberty. Legally,
steroids can help patients with low
levels of testosterone and diseases like
cancer or AIDS, but athletes use them
to enhance the body’s natural muscle
mass. When we lift weights heavier
than usual, our muscle fibers tear and
heal to make bigger and stronger
muscles. Then, when the process is
repeated, our muscles grow and grow.
Using steroids does this at a faster
pace, which is unhealthy.
Steroids can cause many health risks
including heart attacks, HIV, liver
cancer and many other diseases. In
men, steroids can cause infertility, and
in women, sterility. Women can also
experience excessive growth of body
hair. Male pattern baldness can affect
both sexes, as well as changes in secondary sexual characteristics.
And, the legal ramificatio