A: Hey there! Heard anything interesting lately?
B: Nah, just the usual stuff. What's up with you?

A: So, did you hear about this thing with fentanyl? Our cops have been dealing with it for 25 years!
B: No way, really? I thought that was just an American issue.

A: Turns out, it's a painkiller used by cancer patients and others. In the U.S., there've been tons of addiction and overdose cases from illegal fentanyl.
B: Wow, that sounds serious. But in Japan, our cops have only had 17 cases involving it.

A: Yeah, they were mainly in Tokyo and Osaka. Seems like some doctors were giving themselves the drugs instead of using them for their patients.
B: Whoa, that's wrong! And in one case, a patch containing fentanyl ingredients caused someone's death.

A: The good news is no one's smuggled fentanyl into Japan yet, and our cops don't think the abuse is spreading here.
B: Phew, that's a relief! Let's hope it stays that way!
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Japan's National Police Agency has confirmed that its officers have handled 17 cases in 25 years involving the abusive use of the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.



Fentanyl is a painkiller prescribed for cancer patients and others. In the United States, addiction and fatal overdoses on illegally made and traded fentanyl have become a social issue.



The agency says that the cases were handled by police officers in 10 prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka, and involved people who misused the drugs that were made for medical purposes.



It says in many of the cases doctors were suspected of violating the antidrug law by injecting themselves with fentanyl. In another case, a transdermal patch containing ingredients for fentanyl caused a death.



The agency also says no cases have been confirmed of fentanyl being smuggled into Japan so far, and it does not regard abuse of fentanyl as spreading in the country.
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Quiz 1:
Question text: Which painkiller is abusively used by some people in Japan's 10 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka?
A. Oxycodone
B. Morphine
C. Fentanyl
D. Codeine

Quiz 2:
Question text: How many cases of abusive use of the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl has Japan's National Police Agency confirmed in 25 years?
A. More than 17
B. Exactly 17
C. Less than 17
D. None of these

Quiz 3:
Question text: According to the article, where was a death caused by a transdermal patch containing ingredients for fentanyl?
A. Tokyo
B. Osaka
C. Hokkaido
D. Kyushu