In the midst of a blizzard of incidences of deaths in the U.S. said to be caused by the mixing of heroin/cocaine and illegal fentanyl, a study into a new and less open-to-abuse version of pharmaceutical fentanyl began Friday at Wayne State University, Michigan. Planned a few months ago, it is taking place in the city, Detroit, where there have been about 50 deaths in the last two weeks from the illegal mix.
The aim of the study is to test a new version of the powerful painkiller fentanyl on eight heroin users over a three-week period to see whether it reduces pain and is more resistant to abuse. The participants, who are due to be paid $25-$40 a day, will be housed in a clinic, won’t be allowed to use other drugs and, at the end of the study, will be weaned off with methadone. While this new version of fentanyl probably won’t help with the current spate of deaths - that version of fentanyl is said to originate from illegal underground labs - it may help with the abuse of pharmaceutical fentanyl.