MIAMI — A group of scientists say they’ve created a safer version of fentanyl that could potentially diminish the drug’s addictive side effects, which have resulted in annual deaths of tens of thousands of people across the United States.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is prescribed to treat patients with severe pain though it’s also sold illegally and mixed with other drugs, including cocaine and heroin, making it more deadly. It’s Exhibit A in the country’s decades-long opioid crisis.
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