The United States is experiencing a dramatic opioid epidemic, where fentanyl has already emerged as the leading cause of overdose death. The statistics are overwhelming and it is estimated that, in 2023, one person will die every five minutes from this cause. Big cities have seen how entire neighborhoods have become “zombie neighborhoods” with hundreds of addicts crowding every corner and wandering around with little consciousness… and far from improving, the arrival of new substances worsens the situation. Effects of the most commonly used opioids today.
is called Nitazens and is a group of compounds developed as opioid analgesics by the Swiss multinational CIBA in the 1950s. They never gained approval for marketing to the public and so, except in some academic circles, they are barely known… until now. After decades of oblivion, they reappeared on the streets of the United States in 2019, and since then more than 200 deaths from nitazene overdoses have been reported worldwide.
Experts are very concerned and with good reason. In a recent article conducted by American researchers, a scientific review of nitazenes was conducted stating that they “Hundreds to thousands of times more potent than morphine and other opioids and ten times more potent than fentanyl“
In an interview published this week in The Conversation, University of Virginia professor Christopher P. Holstegg added another factor that increases the risk of nitazene on the streets is that “researchers A little information about how the human body reacts to nitazens, because they have never undergone clinical trials.” Although they are already recognized as illegal drugs in many countries, their recent resurgence means that most medical professionals still do not know their existence or the most appropriate treatment to combat overdose.
On the streets, NitaSense has no structure and is another chaotic element. It was first detected in 2019 as a “cocaine-like white powder. It was later found on the streets of Washington, DC as a yellow, brown, and white powder. Since 2022, the DEA has seized other types of nitazene in both powder and blue pills. Doses for illicit use have also been found in pills, liquids and “can be mixed with substances but also with other drugs such as heroin, fentanyl and benzodiazepines”, making their effects more unpredictable.
The toxic effects of nitazene are similar to those of other opioids, such as morphine and fentanyl, and include constricted pupils and respiratory and central nervous system depression, which can lead to death.
For all this, nitazenos represents a serious threat, not only for health professionals or public and police authorities, but for consumers who are exposed to a very high risk because, in many cases, they are not informed or they are not properly informed. Don’t even know. What substances they have consumed makes any treatment to reverse the overdose difficult. Additionally, due to its potency, symptoms can develop quickly after a person is exposed, causing them to die before they receive medical attention.
Scientific references and more information:
Christopher Holstage “Nitazanes Are a Powerful Class of Emerging Street Drugs in the US” Talk
Joseph Pergolizzi, et al. “Old Drugs and New Challenges: A Narrative Review of Nitzenis” Curious (2023) doi:10.7759/curious.40736.
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