In recent years, fentanyl labs have been cropping up all over the United States. These labs are found in the state of California. With the rise of fentanyl labs in the United States, you may be like many people and wonder what happens at these sites. You may wonder how fentanyl is made. The reality is that the question “how is fentanyl made” generally is not the most accurate question to put forth when it comes to fentanyl “manufacturing” in the United States.
Specifics of Fentanyl Manufacturing in the United States
When it comes to fentanyl manufacturing in the United States, the first fact to be borne in mind is that fentanyl is a completely synthetic drug. The chemical formula for fentanyl is N-(1-(2-phenethyl)-4-piperidinyl-N-phenyl-propanamide.
Fentanyl itself is derived from an organic compound called piperidine. Piperidine is used to synthesis many different types of pharmaceuticals. In basic terms, fentanyl is made by manipulating the piperidine molecule. Technically, this can be accomplished by moving what is known as a methyl group into what is known as position 3 of the piperidine ring.
Fentanyl manufacturers each have their own methodologies for making the drug. Beyond this technical and yet basic information about fentanyl making, the process for making this drug is not easily available to law-abiding people. There are recipes for making fentanyl available on the Dark Web.
Fentanyl labs do have similar dangers to those of meth labs. With that said, fentanyl labs do not involve the use of the same level of volatile chemicals as are needed in the making of meth. In other words, fentanyl labs do not have the risk of exploding in the same manner as do meth labs.
With that said, a location where fentanyl is being manufactured from raw materials can end up contaminated with residue from this drug. Fentanyl residue left behind from a lab or manufacturing plant can prove to be highly hazardous.
Fentanyl Importation Into the United States
The question of how fentanyl illegally is made in the United States is a rather incomplete query. The reality is that in the U.S.A., including in California, fentanyl typically is not made from scratch in illicit labs.
At the present time, the majority of fentanyl that will end up on the streets being sold illegally in the United States is brought into the country from Mexico or China. Currently, China is the primary course of illegal fentanyl in the United States.
Because of the fact that a majority of fentanyl is illegally “imported” into the country, when it comes to the manner in which this drug is prepared for sale also warrants a question beyond how fentanyl is made. A very important associated question is how fentanyl is prepared for sale on the illegal market.
Fentanyl Pill Plants
One way in which fentanyl is prepared for public consumption on the illegal market is through pill plants. A fentanyl pill plant takes fentanyl powder and presses it into pill form. Fentanyl pill makers typically use a pill making machine.
Oftentimes, a fentanyl pill maker will stamp the insignia or initials used to identify another type of medication. For example, a fentanyl pill maker might stamp fentanyl pills to appear to be oxycodone.
This can present a highly hazardous situation. People may be sold fentanyl in this form, thinking it is the drug the pill has been pressed to mimic. This reality is a common reason why an ever-increasing number of people are overdosing on fentanyl each and every year.
Fentanyl Used To Cut Other Drugs
A very common practice at this juncture in time is the use of fentanyl to cut other illegal drugs. Cocaine and heroin represent two types of drugs that are being cut with fentanyl with increasing regularity.
Fentanyl is used in this manner for a number of reasons. First, it renders cocaine and heroin more powerful. Second, cutting cocaine or heroin with fentanyl has an economic benefit. Relatively speaking, fentanyl is considered an inexpensive illegal drug.
Decontaminating Fentanyl Plants
Fentanyl contamination can result in a hazardous situation. This can occur when fentanyl is manufactured or pressed into pill form.
Fentanyl residue left behind as a result of the manufacturing or pill pressing process can present serious heath consequences. The reality is that people can be exposed to residue left behind from a fentanyl manufacturing or pill pressing operation without them knowing it has happened. This can have serious health consequences. There is also a risk that more long-term exposure to fentanyl residue from manufacturing or pill pressing can even present a potentially lethal situation.
If fentanyl contamination is suspected because of the presence of a manufacturing or pill pressing process, professional decontamination assistance is recommended. A fentanyl decontamination company can effectively, and safely remediate a situation and restore a property to a safe, health condition.