Deadly New Drug Is Spreading – WORSE Than Fentanyl
(WatchDogReport.org) – The state of Florida is taking action against a new class of drugs with the potential of becoming the next overdose epidemic. Attorney General Ashley Moody issued an emergency order making possession of any drug in the nitazene family, designed to mimic highly-addictive opioids, a felony. Nitazenes are synthetic versions of the narcotic, much like the deadly fentanyl, but even more dangerous.
Far More Dangerous than Fentanyl
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the illicit synthetic drug fentanyl is in nearly half of all illegal pills on the streets. The cheap synthetic, manufactured primarily in China and smuggled mostly through Mexico, is an inexpensive way for dealers to increase profits. It’s also proved to be deadly. Fentanyl is far more powerful than traditional opiates and results in so many overdoses that it’s now the number-one killer of people aged 18 to 49 in the US. The new family of nitazenes is more powerful than fentanyl — even simple contact with the skin can have a deadly outcome.
In trying to stay ahead of what could be a deadly situation, Florida’s steps to declare war on the deadly substance seem warranted. Eight drugs qualify for the emergency order, some being less and some being more powerful than fentanyl. According to Moody’s release, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene, the most powerful nitrazene available, is up to 10 times more powerful than its predecessor.
The Death Toll Mounts
Nitazenes first came on the scene in 2019, and have grown in popularity since. According to the DEA, the synthetic drug has popped up in Canada, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Sweden, and the United States. The federal government has already added the family of drugs, which have no legitimate medical or pharmacological use in the United States, under schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
The move is in response to a widening national concern over the growing availability and deadly nature of the drug. A total of 15 deaths in Florida from the substance sparked the emergency order there, but the issue is far from contained to the Sunshine State. The DEA says there have been 98 recorded instances of run-ins with the drug.
The Effects on Society
Fentanyl has already become an out-of-control issue in this and many other countries. Police officers routinely carry Narcan, an anti-overdose drug inspired by the number of overdoses from the opioid epidemic resulting from drugs laced with synthetics. As drug dealers increase their margins, they get their customers even more hooked on what has become a pressing issue. The DEA’s fact sheet on nitazenes says, “the positive identification of this substance in overdose and post-mortem cases is a serious concern to the public safety.”
While this new drug hasn’t had nearly the devastating consequences of fentanyl, it’s also much newer and nowhere near as plentiful. The attempts by the DEA and the state of Florida to nip it in the bud may save a lot of lives.
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