Raji Bello, a chief consultant anaesthesiologist, has advised the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to be cautious in its campaign against fentanyl, a potential hard drug, in the country.

According to Bello, who is the head of the Department of Medical Anaesthesia, Federal Medical Centre, Yola, Adamawa State, painting a negative picture of the drug could affect hundreds of patients whose recovery from surgical operations and other severe illnesses largely depends on it.

He equally said that the drug is safe in the hands of health practitioners who are trained to administer such drugs and abide by strict medical guidelines in its handling.

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In a Facebook post on Friday, the medical expert called on the NDLEA to balance its planned operation against the drug because it had been a “useful hospital medication for decades before becoming a major drug of abuse”.

“It is a powerful analgesic (pain reliever) which is used to treat severe acute pain caused by trauma, surgical operations and severe illnesses. It is also an important item in the toolbox of the anaesthetist for the conduct of anaesthesia,” the doctor said.

“I’ve come across news reports that the NDLEA will begin to focus some attention on fentanyl which is a narcotic drug with a high abuse potential. Their action is based on indications that some barons and traffickers are trying to bring it into the country for recreational use. Fentanyl is described as the deadliest drug abuse threat currently being faced by the United States because of its greater potency compared to other narcotic drugs.

“There is a need for balance in NDLEA’s planned fight against fentanyl because the drug has also been a useful hospital medication for decades before becoming a major drug of abuse. It is a powerful analgesic (pain reliever) which is used to treat severe acute pain caused by trauma, surgical operations and severe illnesses.

“In trained hands, fantanyl is safe to use as well as very beneficial. It is currently supplied directly to hospitals under controlled conditions by an agency of the Federal Ministry of Health.

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“NDLEA’s campaign against illicit fentanyl should be carefully calibrated in a way that will not affect the availability of medical fentanyl for use in hospitals. Public alerts issued by the NDLEA should include a recognition that fentanyl is also a legitimate and useful medication in health care so that hospital patients would not think that they are being administered a dangerous medication.

“While some cases of addiction to drugs have been traced to hospital prescription of narcotic drugs for chronic pain conditions, fentanyl is mainly used for acute pain and anaesthesia – settings in which addiction is unlikely to develop.

“Past campaigns by drug-control agencies have stigmatised useful hospital medications like diazepam (Valium), bromazepam (Lexotan), tramadol (Tramal) and morphine, which are hospital sedatives and pain relievers, to the extent that they disappeared from pharmacies.

“Patients were denied their benefits for years and a generation of doctors, nurses and pharmacists missed out on experience with the drugs because of their non-availability. Narcotic analgesics are like assault weapons; they are bad in the hands of members of the public (who are likely to misuse them) but are useful in the hands of those who are authorised to handle and use them.”

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In a statement signed by Femi Babafemi and posted on its website on November 8, the NDLEA had alerted Nigerians on what it considered an attempt by “some unscrupulous elements to introduce a lethal synthetic opioid, fentanyl, which is 100 times stronger than tramadol into the Nigerian market, warning that the illicitly manufactured drug is capable of causing mass casualty among the youth population being targeted by the cartels”.