Similar to how clothes, games, catchphrases and mobile phones go in and out of style, so do illegal drugs. The police force works hand in hand with chemists in order to seize and identify the drugs and dangerous substances being passed around in the criminal underworld to determine how to deal with victims of addiction and, most importantly, calculate the risks that these drugs pose to the human body. 

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      This October, The Ottawa Citizen revealed the results of a pair of strange drug samples seized this summer: both contained deadly doses of powdered carfentanil. While this substance might not spark any outrage at a first glance, once I explain what it is used for it will surely turn some heads. Carfentanil is a type of opioid (substances used as anesthetics and pain killers) similar to morphine. However, unlike most opioids, this substance is about ten thousand times more potent than morphine. In fact, it is used in small portions to anesthetize large zoo animals like giraffes and elephants. Even more alarming, the drug is also rising in popularity. "When we started our work on supervised injection sites six years ago, OxyContin was the drug we were worried about", stated Rob Boyd, director of the Oasis clinic at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre in Ottawa. Carfentanil has also being found in counterfeit pills sold as cheap pain relievers, which have been responsible for dozens of overdoses between the U.S and Canada. As the police force of Ottawa stated, "no amount of supervision can guarantee a person's safety when they choose to use illegal drugs. Counterfeit drugs do not taste, smell or look different than prescription drugs obtained at a pharmacy or from your physician." Furthermore, not only are people taking in carfentanil: they could be taking a myriad of other substances with every pill, such as mixtures of heroin and fentanyl (another type of opioid) and whatever else illicit drug dealers can get their hands on to make their product look more appealing. Because of the many impurities found in these drugs, it can be hard for researchers and doctors to prescribe effective medication and advice to their afflicted patients. The report goes on to say that although the drug was gaining momentum in the U.S., authorities were not prepared to see it take over Canada so swiftly. For more information on this report, please visit Blear Crawford's article listed below.

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      In Unit 3 of our chemistry course, we learned about the importance of accuracy when it comes to medicine. For example, when prescribing a diabetic patient with a specific dose of insulin, factors such as age, sex, and body mass are taken into consideration when measuring the exact amount of insulin that a patient needs to take in order to regulate their glucose levels. Similarly, cancer patients going through chemotherapy must be given an extremely precise dosage of medicine, as the substances do not only kill infected cancer cells, but they also attack many healthy ones. In this unit we also learned that the accurate amount of reactants needed to produce the desired amount of a reactant can be meticulously calculated through stoichiometric calculations. And although stoichiometry only predicts theoretical results, as it  does not take into account all of the real-life circumstances that can affect the production of a substance (experimental errors, impurities, and even the air itself), laboratory technicians go through great lengths to ensure that what they produce is as pure and accurate as possible. This is why illicit drugs can be so dangerous: those who produce them are simply trying to get the most money out of it, discarding proper calculations and procedures, and putting the lives of their costumers at risk. After all, one pill could give a short and limited stimulation, while the next could get you sent to the emergency room: especially dealing with a chemical meant to be used on elephants!

 

     On a personal note, I was taught a about the importance of dosage concerning medicine a long time ago. This knowledge was amplified when I had to watch someone very close to me go through cancer treatment, where I was able to learn about the machinery and substances used to battle cancer. And while I am forever thankful to the people who spend their lives working towards saving peoples' lives and finding remedies to the many diseases that plague our society, it sickens me that at the other end of the spectrum there are people actively harming others to gain profit, to the point of using elephant anesthetisers in their products. There is no passion in their work, only illusions of wealth and power. These so-called chemists are an active disease eating away at the vulnerable people in our communities.

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     However, the blame is not completely theirs. After all, they rely on their costumers to keep their illegal businesses going. Why do you think that some people will rather buy potentially lethal drugs rather than consult professionals? Is it purely a matter of which one is cheaper, or is it because people are misinformed when it comes to the dangers of certain chemicals? Should basic knowledge of chemistry be more available and/or enforced on the population?

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For more info, visit http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/deadly-carfentanil-confirmed-in-ottawa-police-drug-seizures