The Ministry of Health is actively promoting a comprehensive strategy aimed at formulating actions and regulations to ensure the safe utilization of fentanyl within the country and to counteract the potential abuse of this substance.
In pursuit of this objective, a campaign titled “Illegal Fentanyl: Just trying it can kill you” was officially launched, as revealed by Minister of Health, Mary Munive, during a press conference last Wednesday.
Minister Munive emphasized that this initiative aligns with both security and health considerations, underscoring the critical role of effective communication. She acknowledged the existence of two distinct types of fentanyl: “legal” and “illegal.”
Fentanyl, a potent painkiller that surpasses morphine in strength by 100 times, is permitted for use in Costa Rica solely in injectable or patch forms, and exclusively with a valid prescription from a licensed medical professional.
Expressing concern, Munive highlighted the risk associated with fentanyl entering the country in pill form and being adulterated with other substances, emphasizing its potentially lethal consequences even in small doses.
Launching the communication campaign, “Illegal Fentanyl: Just trying it can kill you,” Munive urged Costa Ricans to actively participate in spreading awareness and understanding of this critical issue.
As part of the proactive action plan, health authorities are committed to providing training to address cases involving drugs like fentanyl. Moreover, there is an emphasis on educating both students and the general population through a communication campaign, fostering healthy lifestyles, and mitigating risks associated with substance use.
Efforts are underway to establish a connection between systems, incorporating digital prescriptions in public and private health services to monitor the records of medicines, psychotropic drugs, and narcotics.
The Ministry of Health is also dedicated to enhancing competencies related to best practices in the storage and distribution of medicines, psychotropic drugs, and narcotics. Concurrently, a unified procedure is being developed to verify compliance with established regulations for inventory control.
In addition, the Ministry aims to update existing decrees to clearly delineate the conditions and requirements that hospital and community pharmacies must adhere to in order to obtain authorization from the Ministry of Health.
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Ileana Fernandez
