The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has been driving a surge in overdose deaths over the past few years to a record 108,000 in 20221. Now, drug-control officials say that two drugs even more powerful drugs than fentanyl—itself 50 times more potent than heroin—are entering the illicit market and are increasingly linked to overdose fatalities. One is a class of synthetic opioids called nitazines, which was responsible for a four-fold rise in overdose deaths in Tennessee in the last two years from none in 2019. Health officials are also finding traces of another drug, xylazine, a non-opioid animal tranquilizer, in fentanyl samples. This drug is usually used to sedate animals, including horses, and has been found laced in illicit injectable drugs, causing users to slip into a state of unconsciousness for hours. This profound sedation leaves people vulnerable to sexual assault and robbery, health care experts say, as well as suffocation if they are lying face down on a pillow. They also suffer skin abscesses at injection sites that are so severe they sometimes require amputations. These new drugs reflect a significant escalation of the drug and overdose crisis, increasing the risks for drug users who are often unaware of the dangers. To reduce the overdose rate, we need stronger efforts by federal and state authorities to stop the flow of such drugs, provide for adequate testing opportunities, and equally important, make available treatment on demand for al those struggling with substance use.
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Rosenthal Center for AddictIon Studies