ARDMORE, Okla. (KXII) – Over the last few years, the United States has seen an increase in fentanyl-related deaths. Now, an older drug, very similar to fentanyl, is making a comeback with a stronger kick.
Nitazenes were first produced in the 1950’s as a potential painkiller.
“It was so powerful that it never got approval,” Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics spokesman Mark Woodward said.
Manufactured on the black market, the drug has no legitimate use in the U.S.
“This is made typically in China on the black market and it’s shipped into the United States by criminal organizations through Canada and Mexico and put on the streets in pill form to feed our country’s opioid addiction,” Woodward said.
Disguised as pills such as oxycodone, the drug can be more than 40 times stronger than fentanyl depending on the type.
So far, OBN has outlawed six.
“There’s etonitazene, metonitazene, protonitazene, isotonitazene, just to name a few, but each time we do, they twist the molecule, put it out on the streets as a brand new nitazene that’s not yet illegal.”
Their biggest concern with this emerging drug is that overdose reversal medication like Narcan might not be your saving grace.
“Being 40 times stronger than fentanyl in some cases, you might need 40 times more Narcan and most people are just not going to have that available,” Woodward said.
While there is no hard data on nitazenes yet due to its striking similarity to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, samples have been showing up state-wide.
“It could be a rural small community to a local high school kid or it could be a 30-year drug addict in downtown Oklahoma City, these drugs are showing up everywhere,” Woodward said.
OBN warns everyone to expect fentanyl or nitazenes in any drugs that are not prescribed by a doctor or distributed through a pharmacy.
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