COMEBACK TIME –
Sept. 16, 2024 – Nitazenes—a class of highly potent synthetic opioids—are rapidly emerging as a major contributor to the overdose crisis. Originally developed in the 1950s but never approved for clinical use, these substances are over 20 times more potent than fentanyl and hundreds to thousands of times more potent than morphine. They can come in liquid, pills or powder form, and have been found in substances sold via social media and on the illicit drug market since 2019.
Created as a potential pain reliever but never approved for medical use in humans or studied in a clinical trial, nitazenes are an illegal Schedule I drug that can be difficult to detect with standard drug tests and are often mixed into counterfeit pills or other street drugs.
“For patients, especially those with opioid use disorder or those exposed to illicit substances, nitazenes pose a serious and often hidden threat.”
