re: Why does fentanyl even exist

Fentanyl was and is an excellent drug for a vet to use if he/she needs to knock out a horse. I think that is the use that pushed its development. Like all drugs with multiple effects, it has evolved into other uses, many of them habit forming and eventually lethal.

As a drug for pain control in patients who were dying, to be used in the last few weeks before death, OxyContin is an excellent drug. To control the pain of common muscle strain and mild postoperative pain, it is being misused by physicians and drug salesmen in the push to accumulate nicer condos and top of the line BMWs.