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Notes -
My point isn't about adulteration with "bad things", my point was about uncertainty of dosage. I mentioned isopropyl alcohol because it might be considered analogous to fentanyl; it's a stronger alcohol than ethanol in some ways but not toxic in the way methanol is.
Really, the bigger problem for my theory of uncertainty of dosage caused by the introduction of illicit fentanyl into the recreational opiate trade being the main reason for the increase in overdose deaths is the fact that cocaine and meth went up (though not as much) at the same time. As far as I know nothing changed pharmacologically there, so your "inherent danger" theory can't explain it either.
Fentanyl is a colourless white powder and sometimes used to cut cocaine and meth by unscrupulous dealers. Terrible idea, but it will make people feel more fucked up... not to mention make a nice contribution to overdose death statistics.
Interesting, but it unfortunately doesn't distinguish between "inherent danger" and "uncertainty of dosage".
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