Potent synthetic opioids are linked to rise in heroin overdoses and deaths in England

A group of potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes have been linked to a rise in overdoses and deaths in people who use drugs, primarily heroin, in England over the past two months, drug regulators have warned.A national patient safety alert said that the potency and toxicity of nitazenes were uncertain but that they were believed to be “similar to, or more than fentanyl, which is about 100x morphine.”1Contaminated heroin is not the only risk, however, as potent synthetic opioids are also found in fake oxycodone tablets and less commonly in fake or “street” benzodiazepines and in synthetic cannabinoids (SCRAs), the alert said.An average of 40 opioid drug deaths occur every week in England and Wales, but in the past eight weeks many parts of the country have seen an “unusual increase,” and testing in some of these cases has found nitazenes.Healthcare providers throughout the NHS in England have been told…
Read Original Article: Potent synthetic opioids are linked to rise in heroin overdoses and deaths in England »