Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic.

Fentanyl was first developed in 1959 and introduced in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic. It is legally manufactured and distributed in the United States. Licit fentanyl pharmaceutical products are diverted via theft, fraudulent prescriptions, and illicit distribution by patients, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists.

Alarming epidemiological and forensic medicine reports, point to a growing increase in illicit use of fentanyl, mainly in North America and Europe. Toxicological data indicates that fentanyl use is inextricably linked with polydrug use. There are two main sources of fentanyl on the “recreational” drug market. First, the most common, combines illicitly manufactured fentanyl from clandestine sources.The drug is often mixed up with heroin (“fake heroin”) to increase its potency at a little cost, or included in cocaine products. It can also be mixed into and sold as oxycodone-, hydrocodone- or alprazolam-containing tablets. The other way to gain fentanyl is through the diversion of fentanyl-containing medicines, especially transdermal patches (FTPs)