Illegal Drug That Once Appeared in Utah is Causing Increased Overdose Deaths

A synthetic drug is making its way into the illegal drug market and it is causing an increased number of overdose deaths. Just when you think the drug scene has gotten as bad as it can get, a new drug arrives to up the ante.

Drug Developed in the 1950s Has Spread from Europe to America 

Nitazenes are a kind of opioid that are much stronger than fentanyl. They were banned and never made available to the public because of the risk. For years they were just notes sometimes read by researchers.  

There were only a couple of cases of people dying of a Nitazene overdose. 10 people in Moscow died of it in 1998, and one case in Utah of all places, where a person made his ow and died of it in 2003. Then in 2019 all that began to change. 

Nitazenes are Cheap to Produce by Illegal Drug Manufacturers 

The drug began to be produced in China and India and shipped into Europe in the same illegal trade that brings Fentanyl into those countries. From there it has spread to the Americas. 

Nitazene can come in everything from pills to powders and sprays. It is often blended with other drugs which increases the danger of accidental overdoses. Because the drug is so new it often avoids detection. 

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One thing that can help is public awareness. Naloxene otherwise known as Narcan can save someone who has overdosed on nitazene. Knowing what the person has taken and having the resources to help can make a difference.

With a new drug comes new ways to combat it and right now the public health and law enforcement are working to develop new strategies.