| Course | MSW 535 Drugs and Addictive Behaviors |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Substance profile |
| Length | About 520 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 535 Week 2
Substance Profile of Illicitly Made Fentanyl, Smoked and Injected: Route of Administration First, a Timed Passage From First Effect to Withdrawal, What Is Felt, Seen and Left Later and Both Names on the Page
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 535: Drugs and Addictive Behaviors
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Substance Profile of Illicitly Made Fentanyl, Smoked and Injected: Route of Administration First, a Timed Passage From First Effect to Withdrawal, What Is Felt, Seen and Left Later and Both Names on the Page
The Substance
Class: opioid. Member: fentanyl, a synthetic mu-opioid receptor agonist, many times more potent than morphine. In the local supply at my placement, fentanyl is sold as powder, often called "fetty" or "fent," or pressed into counterfeit pills marked as oxycodone (Comer & Cahill, 2019).
Route of Administration First
Most clients at the program smoke fentanyl from foil; a smaller number inject. The route changes almost everything. Injected fentanyl reaches the brain within seconds and peaks fast; smoked fentanyl also acts within seconds but delivers smaller, repeated doses as the person takes more hits. Clients describe moving from injecting to smoking partly to reduce overdose risk and vein damage.
The Timed Passage
Onset: seconds after smoking or injecting. Peak: within minutes. Duration of strong effects: short, often under two hours, which is why people use several times a day. Early withdrawal: many clients describe it starting within hours of the last use, sooner than with heroin. These times vary with dose, tolerance and what else is in the supply.
Felt, Seen and Later
Felt: warmth, relief, drowsiness, a sense that problems have stopped mattering. Seen by others: pinpoint pupils, nodding, slowed speech, slow breathing. Later: constipation, nausea, a crash in mood, and the start of withdrawal with yawning, sweating, aching and anxiety.
Clients also describe a pattern over the day: using in the morning to avoid withdrawal, again at midday and again at night. That pattern is set by the drug's short action, not only by craving, and it shapes when a client can come to an appointment.
The Risk Built Into the Drug
Because fentanyl is potent and its dose in street powder is uneven, small differences in amount can mean the difference between effect and overdose. Its main danger is respiratory depression: breathing slows or stops (Comer & Cahill, 2019). Because many people now use it without knowing, through counterfeit pills, overdose risk extends to people who do not think they use opioids.
Both Names on the Page
Clients say "fetty," "fent" or "blues" for pills; medical records say fentanyl. A worker should know both so a client is not corrected or misunderstood.
What the Hour Means
In practice, a client who used an hour ago may be near peak or already wanting more. For outreach, that means asking when the person last used before deciding whether a conversation is possible, and always carrying naloxone. Medications for opioid use disorder lower the risk of death compared with being out of treatment (Sordo et al., 2017), so every contact is a chance to offer them.
References
Comer, S. D., & Cahill, C. M. (2019). Fentanyl: Receptor pharmacology, abuse potential, and implications for treatment. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 106, 49-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.005
Sordo, L., Barrio, G., Bravo, M. J., Indave, B. I., Degenhardt, L., Wiessing, L., Ferri, M., & Pastor-Barriuso, R. (2017). Mortality risk during and after opioid substitution treatment: Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. BMJ, 357, Article j1550. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j1550
Reading the MSW 535 Week 2 instructions
The substance profile names a class and then puts one member on the table so the figures have something to attach to. Lead with route of administration, since the same compound smoked, injected or swallowed acts on different timetables. Give a timed passage: onset, peak, duration and when withdrawal begins, with the caution that timing varies. Separate what the person feels, what others can see and what follows later. Explain the main risk built into the drug. Put street names and pharmacological names on the page together, since workers need both. Close with what the time since last use means for practice. Cite pharmacology sources rather than drug websites.
How the MSW 535 Week 2 example is put together
The substance section names fentanyl as a synthetic mu-opioid agonist sold as powder or counterfeit pills, citing Comer and Cahill (2019). The route section explains why clients smoke from foil and what injection changes. The timed passage gives onset in seconds, a peak within minutes, short duration and early withdrawal within hours, with a note on variation. A section separates warmth and relief from pinpoint pupils and nodding, and later constipation and withdrawal signs. The risk section explains respiratory depression and uneven dosing in street powder and pills. A names section pairs fetty and blues with fentanyl. The close links the hour since use to outreach and cites Sordo et al. (2017).
Reading the MSW 535 Week 2 grading rubric
A profile that stays at the level of a category, describing opioids in general, loses the most. Faculty look for one member, route of administration first and a timed passage that a worker could use. Credit goes to separating felt, seen and later effects, a clear account of the drug's main risk and both kinds of names. The close should connect timing to practice. Pharmacological claims must be accurate and sourced from reviews or clinical references in APA. Street names belong where clients use them, not as decoration. A profile of a legal substance follows the same structure. Timing given with its uncertainty earns more than precise numbers without a source. A profile a worker could use on outreach is the standard.
Common MSW 535 Week 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Profiles most often lose points by describing a drug class without choosing a member, which leaves timing vague. Another common gap is leaving out route, so smoking and injecting are treated as the same. Some profiles list effects without saying which a worker could see. Others rely on drug information websites rather than pharmacology sources. If your section assigned a different substance, perhaps alcohol, methamphetamine or a prescribed benzodiazepine, keep the same order: member, route, timing, effects, risk, names and the practice meaning of the hour. Your profile should leave a worker able to judge what a client is going through right now.
Get a MSW-535 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 2 instructions with the class your section assigned and any profile template your classroom posts, and a custom example is written to them and returned inside 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. Where the choice of substance is left open, the desk picks a member whose published figures can carry a real timeline.
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MSW 535 Week 2 questions, answered
Do the street names earn their place, or are they padding?
They earn it when the profile explains which name turns up where. A case file, a police report and a pharmacology text will each use a different word for the same compound, and a worker who knows only one of them misses the entry. Keep the list short, note that regional usage shifts and dates quickly, and anchor every name back to the pharmacological one.
My section assigned a legal substance. Does the same structure hold?
It holds without modification, and those profiles often score better because the writer stops relying on familiarity. Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine all have a route, an onset, a peak and a duration that most students have never looked up. Treating a legal compound with the same discipline as an illegal one is exactly the habit the module is building toward.
How many members of the class should the profile cover?
One worked properly beats five listed. The assignment is testing whether you can hold a real compound rather than recite a family, so pick the member the reading gives you the most published detail on, and mention the others only where a second one behaves differently enough to make a point about the class as a whole.
Where can I find a free MSW 535 Week 2 sample paper?
The full MSW 535 Week 2 substance profile of illicit fentanyl, smoked and injected, is posted below, with margin notes on route and timing.
Why does the MSW 535 Week 2 sample put route of administration first?
Because smoking and injecting the same drug change how fast it acts and how doses accumulate, which changes overdose risk and what a worker sees.