On October 9, 2022, at 5:46 AM, Robert Charles Cope II was booked into San Patricio County Jail at 300 N. Rachal St. in Sinton, TX 78387. He was placed in a detoxification cell. The following day, at 1:14 AM, Mr. Cope was found in an incoherent state on the floor of his cell. When Mr. Cope was being prepared for transport in an ambulance, a vape pen was found near him. Mr. Cope, age 42, was pronounced deceased at midnight on October 10, 2022, in Dr. Regional ICU in Corpus Christi, Texas.

What is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid like morphine, but its potency is between 50 and 100 times greater. Although it is a prescription drug, it is also manufactured and used illegally. Fentanyl is a pain medication usually prescribed for patients experiencing severe pain, particularly after having surgery. Fentanyl is sometimes the treatment prescribed for patients with chronic pain when they have a physical tolerance to other opioids. Tolerance occurs when a higher and/or more frequent amount of a drug is required to get the desired effects.

Prescription forms of fentanyl include Sublimaze®, Duragesic®, and Actiq®. Fentanyl has many common street names, including China Town, Goodfellas, Tango & Cash, and Poison.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are now the drugs most commonly involved in drug overdose fatalities in the United States. The use of fentanyl has increased alarmingly. In 2010, 14.3% of opioid-related deaths involved fentanyl compared to 59.8% in 2017. More recent research shows that of all deaths involving opioids in 2020 and in 2021, 90% involved fentanyl.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this continuing series.

This website was established as a resource for inmates in Texas municipal and county jails in the state, and making insinuations about wrongdoing committed by people or institutions is never intended.

–Guest Contributor