Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Increase Of Fentanyl Use In Young Adults And Its Relationship To Mental Illness, Madison Lilleberg, Madison Regel, Bashaer Abdushakour, Rosalee Allan

2022 Symposium

The abuse of prescription pain medication has risen to exponential levels in the United States within the past few years, leading to overdose deaths. The opioid epidemic sparked the popularity of the use of Fentanyl due to its highly potent pain-fighting properties. What was once approved to manage pain symptoms for cancer patients is now being used by thousands of young individuals irresponsibly and poses a threat to the health of our population. It is also becoming increasingly common worldwide to find this synthetic opioid mixed with other illicit drugs.

The scope of the research focuses on studies on self-medication …