> I dont think it's ever the ideal drug for pain management.
this is a bold claim to make. it's worth having a wide range of drugs in a particular class, because they all have different side effect profiles and will affect individual patients differently. the short duration makes it ideal for use as an anesthetic, for instance. it is also safer than many of the older opioids, in the sense that the difference between an effective and lethal dose is much larger. when the short duration is not desired, this can be easily fixed with a time release mechanism.
the main danger with fentanyl is it's high potency by weight. this is not an issue in a controlled medical setting, nor with the transdermal patches that are typically used in outpatient.
> There would not be much of a black market for it if physicians and pharma were not getting people addicted.
this reflects a misunderstanding of the psychology of addicts imo. the exact opioid is usually fungible to an addict; they want whatever gets them the most high for the least money. they probably have a favorite, but you rarely hear of people who specifically seek out fentanyl. in other words, I don't think there are many people who are addicted to fentanyl specifically.
this is a bold claim to make. it's worth having a wide range of drugs in a particular class, because they all have different side effect profiles and will affect individual patients differently. the short duration makes it ideal for use as an anesthetic, for instance. it is also safer than many of the older opioids, in the sense that the difference between an effective and lethal dose is much larger. when the short duration is not desired, this can be easily fixed with a time release mechanism.
the main danger with fentanyl is it's high potency by weight. this is not an issue in a controlled medical setting, nor with the transdermal patches that are typically used in outpatient.
> There would not be much of a black market for it if physicians and pharma were not getting people addicted.
this reflects a misunderstanding of the psychology of addicts imo. the exact opioid is usually fungible to an addict; they want whatever gets them the most high for the least money. they probably have a favorite, but you rarely hear of people who specifically seek out fentanyl. in other words, I don't think there are many people who are addicted to fentanyl specifically.