Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: TICs & TIMs

Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism
Training Support Package
Participant Guide
Slide 15
Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism:
TICs & TIMs
Module Two - The Clinical Neurotoxicology of Chemical Terrorism
15
The events in the news media unfolded over several days. It was initially thought that the
security services pumped an aerosol anesthetic into the theatre - later reported to be
weaponized Fentanyl (possibly carfentanil) - through the air conditioning system. If it was
an opioid, why was the military not prepared with antidote (naloxone)….would it have
worked or helped anyway The amount of time to enter the building and administer the
antidote naloxone makes it unlikely to have helped many.
An opioid is a type of drug class that includes heroin and morphine. The drugs present
in the poppy plant are termed opiates. There are other drugs that are synthesized or
manufactured in pharmaceutical factories that resemble the active ingredients found in
the poppy plants. These are referred to as synthetic opioids. Examples include
meperidine and methadone. Another example is fentanyl which is very potent as will be
described on the next slide.
Opioids cause sedation, and in larger doses cause coma. They are also used to control
pain. Deaths occur from respiratory arrest.
December 2008 Version 2.0 Page 83