Citation

Canfield JR, Canfield KV, Sprague JE. Addiction 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/add.16527

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

p-Fluorofentanyl (pFF) is a fentanyl analog that differs from fentanyl by the addition of a fluorine group on the aniline ring (see Figure 1). pFF belongs to a class of compounds referred to as illicitly manufactured fentanyls (IMFs) which are ingested unknowingly by consumers, contributing to the increase in opioid overdose deaths around the world [1-3]. In 2022, greater than two-thirds of the 107, 573 drug overdose deaths in the United States were due to synthetic opioids other than methadone, with IMFs being the primary contributor [4]. pFF is rarely found alone and is typically seen in combination with fentanyl. In 2023, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) noted the occurrence of pFF in 1,840 chemistry items submitted to the laboratory, with 99% of those submitted items also containing fentanyl. From September 2020 to October 2022, the state of Michigan reported that the percentage of decedents who tested positive for pFF also tested positive for fentanyl 99% of the time [5]. Additionally, co-involvement of fentanyl with pFF overdose deaths ranged from 100% in September of 2020 to 90.8% in June of 2021, as reported by 42 states and the District of Columbia [6].

Language: en

Keywords

Analog; fentanyl; halogenation; opioids; para-fluorofentanyl; potency