ArticleSSM. Qualitative research in health2025
Self-reported pathways through which illicitly manufactured fentanyl enters the stimulant supply: Novel insights from people incarcerated for drug manufacturing and distribution.
Article in SSM. Qualitative research in health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Contrasting perspectives and applications of the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Law: insights from people who use and distribute drugs in Rhode Island.Health & justice · 2026Article
- Identifying Factors Associated With Intentional and Unintentional Fentanyl Use Among People Who Use Drugs in New York City.Journal of addiction medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: The unintentional consumption of stimulants containing fentanyl among people who intend to only use stimulants contributes to overdose mortality in North America. Research exploring how fentanyl appears in the stimulant supply among people who manufacture and/or distribute drugs (PWDD) is critical to understanding supply-side factors that shape stimulant and opioid-involved overdose risk. Methods: From April to July 2023, thirty PWDD incarcerated at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections completed an in-depth interview about stimulant and opioid-involved overdose. Data were thematically analyzed to explore speculated pathways through which fentanyl may appear in stimulants. Results: Participants primarily endorsed unintentional fentanyl contamination pathways, including the accidental mix-up of drugs that look alike and cross-contamination via surfaces containing residual fentanyl where stimulant product is packaged. Congruent with historically contested beliefs about drug cutting and adulteration to induce dependence, some participants speculated that fentanyl may be intentionally added to stimulants to induce fentanyl dependence among people intending to only use stimulants to increase profits, though no participant reported firsthand knowledge of this. Participants extensively familiar with opioid and stimulant drug markets believed intentional contamination at high-level drug trafficking organizations was unlikely to occur as this would mix the drug markets, harming the profitability of maintaining distinct opioid and stimulant markets. Conclusion: Our findings challenge beliefs about the intentional addition of fentanyl in stimulants, showing them to be unsubstantiated. Instead, participants with advanced knowledge of drug manufacturing and distribution reported that fentanyl primarily appears in the stimulant supply unintentionally underscoring the need for targeted strategies to reduce contamination.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.