Actiq is a powerful narcotic painkiller in the form of a lollipop that is manufactured by Cephalon, Inc. The drug is delivered to the bloodstream by a lollipop-like lozenge; when placed against the inner cheek, pain is relieved in minutes. Actiq is also administered by transdermal patches and by injection. The active ingredient, fentanyl citrate, is a highly addictive narcotic which is approximately 80 times more potent than morphine.
The FDA approved the Actiq lollipop in 1998 for treatment of severe pain in cancer patients. However, Actiq is apparently being prescribed to thousands of people for off label treatment of non-cancer related pain. It has been estimated that in the first half of 2006 approximately 99% of the 187,076 Actiq prescriptions filled in the U.S. were not for cancer patients. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is normally prescribed for the terminally ill. My wife’s case was unique. She had 8 spinal surgeries, and the result was massive scarring of nerve routes. Known as adhesive arachnoiditis. A neurologist who was an expert in that area, told me, it results in all the pain of terminal cancer, without the benefit of death. Her last spinal surgery ( a spinal revision ) removed all the scar tissue ( 15 years ago ); and she has been drug free ever since. What makes this particular type of fentanyl very dangerous is, it comes in a lollipop that is raspberry flavored; and it would be very attractive to children. There were no children in our home, and the reamaining prescription was destroyed after my wife’s surgery.
Sorry to hear about all your wife went through . Painkillers are meant to be prescribed by a doctor and a usually end date to taking them … Hope all is well now .
Pain killers are a blessing & a curse. Problem is, because there is so much abuse, too often a doctor will hesitate prescribing meds for someone who has a legitimate need. Back a ways I had some serious oral surgery; and was given Motrin. 4 days of agony until it eased up. 4 days of opiates would have done no harm.
Since her revision surgery, little or no pain. For years before the surgery, she was on heavy doses; but that’s now ancient history. She actually stopped cold; and it was a bit traumatic; but she toughed it out. Myself, I would have weaned off slowly. Still, whatever works. Stopping opiates cold will not kill you; but for a period, you may wish you were dead. Heh.
An illegal alien was sentenced to prison Monday for attempting to traffic enough fentanyl in the United States to kill hundreds of thousands of people.
Pablo Vega-Ontanon, a 53-year-old Mexican national living illegally in Georgia, was sentenced to 74 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for his intent to distribute nine kilograms of heroin, according to a press release from the Justice Department.
Vega-Ontanon arrived in Gulfport, Mississippi, in November 2018 alongside two co-defendants. The three men attempted to sell heroin to a confidential informant, and said they had 10 kilograms of the drug inside a compartment in their car. Shortly after being arrested, the substance was tested and found to not only contain nine kilograms of heroin but also included one kilogram of fentanyl.
The amount of fentanyl was enough to produce 500,000 fatal doses, according to the Justice Department.
Federal investigators believe that as much as 2.2 million kilograms of cocaine and 11.6 kilograms of marijuana were smuggled into the United States via the Mexican border in 2005.
Hispanics comprise 49 percent of total gang membership. A majority of these gang members are illegal immigrants.
A New York City man who’s now been arrested 139 times thanked Democrats for guaranteeing his immediate release despite repeatedly swiping hundreds of dollars from unsuspecting subway commuters since the state’s new bail reform law went into effect Jan. 1.
Charles Barry, 56, has been arrested six times since the start of this year. He’s been released each time without having to post bail under New York’s new bail reform law since his alleged offenses were nonviolent, the New York Daily News reported. In the past, Barry’s served several stints in state prison and has a lengthy record, including six felonies, 87 misdemeanors and 21 missed court hearings, the newspaper reported, citing court records.
