Comment by jimnotgym
12 hours ago
Could this effect actually be more of a customer service effect?
Drug dealers were lacing things with fentanyl to make them more addictive. They were putting too much in and killing people by accident. This was bad for business in 3 ways
1) they could have saved money by using less fentanyl
2) they were killing their customers, as well as reducing the customer base this has a reputational risk.
3) They were attracting too much public interest in their activities
Therefore they found that they make more money by putting less in.
Not a drug expert, don't live in US, never took fentanyl. I just picked these 'facts' out of the comments. Before anyone says, 'you don't know what to you are talking about' in the sweet way that has crept into hn, I really don't, and don't claim to.
The problem with fentanyl is not that people are putting in too much. It’s that it’s extremely potent so it’s too easy to accidentally put too much in.
So the problem IS that people are putting in too much (even if accidentally) ?
The problem is that the typical delivery mechanism for this drug is a highly-dilute injection or transdermal patch - not 'geometric' dilution into pills in Jose's basement with questionable fillers.
The substance is too potent per physical unit of weight and volume to be conveniently dosed through other means.