A DEVASTATING drug up to 500 times more powerful than heroin could spark a 'summer of deaths' on British streets.
Over the last year, more than 100 deaths have been linked to nitazenes – synthetic opioids that are being mixed into supplies of hard drugs like heroin and counterfeit medications sold online.
Now experts fear this new 'Frankenstein' drug - called so because it can be easily mixed with existing substances - could lead to a fresh summer epidemic in the UK, mirroring the opioid crisis in the US that claimed 70,601 lives in 2021 alone.
Nitazenes are increasingly flooding Britain as desperate dealers scramble to counteract a dramatic reduction in the global supply of heroin, caused by the Taliban cracking down on opium poppy fields in Afghanistan.
Dr Judith Yates – who collates data about drug deaths – warned the BBC that the shortage of heroin could lead to "10 times more [nitazenes] deaths in England this summer" alone.
From today, the UK Government has classified 15 more synthetic opioids – 14 of which are nitazenes – as Class A drugs in a fightback against the growing trade.
But some experts fear the ban will do little to stem the tide and say many testing labs are not set up to detect nitazenes, which can be moved in far smaller quantities than heroin thanks to their potency.
Dr Caroline Copeland, a senior lecturer in pharmacology and toxicology at Kings College London, tells The Sun: “Nitazenes are an incredibly potent synthetic, which means it's very easy to overdose from them for two reasons.
“The first is it’s very difficult to take a small amount that’s a non-fatal dose. The size of a speck of dust or a grain of sand is enough to prove fatal.
“If we say that heroin potency is about a one, Fentanyl - which we know is a big problem in the US – is about 50 times stronger than heroin.
“These nitazene compounds are anywhere from 50 times to 500 times more potent than heroin.
“Secondly, it’s dangerous because people don't know that they are taking nitazenes. They think they are purchasing codeine, diazepam or heroin."
Nitazenes were first developed as a pain-killing medication and anaesthesia in the 1950s but were never approved for medical use because they were so potent.
But now, synthetic opioids are snowballing in popularity in the wake of the Taliban's ban on the production of opium poppies, which are used to make heroin, in Afghanistan.
Dr Copeland added: “Drug cartels are now having to resort to alternatives and these synthetics are easily made in a lab and are cheap to produce.
“They are so strong that you only need to ship a small amount, which can then be diluted into multiple bags of heroin.
“The cartels will soon learn that this is easier than a return to the cultivation of naturally-occurring heroin because they don’t need land or to rely on farming skills or the weather.”
The National Crime Agency believes nitazenes are being produced in illicit labs in China before being brought into the UK and sent through Royal Mail and other postal service operators.
It’s a dire warning to all drug users but the public as well, you will see someone who has overdosed on the streets or in a toilet, if you haven’t seen it already.
Pastor Mick Fleming
Britain already suffers thousands of fatal overdoses every year but the figure is dwarfed by the US opioid epidemic, which claimed the lives of 645,000 people between 1999 and 2021.
In December, the Metropolitan Police seized 150,000 nitazenes tablets – its biggest bust to date – in one of a series of factory raids across Waltham Forest and Enfield, in London.
Outside the capital, the synthetics have already been detected in Basildon, Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, Dublin and Glasgow.
Dr Copeland believes nitazenes could be “much wider spread than those areas” and warns that not all laboratories can test for the compound.
IT’S a synthetic opioid that is up to 500 time more powerful than heroin and “a speck of dust” sized amount can kill.
Nitazenes are a worrying new compound that is being added to heroin and other drugs, including counterfeit medication sold online.
The synthetic opioid can produce sedation and euphoria but also fatal respiratory depression.
Nitazenes have claimed more than 100 lives since last summer in the UK alone, according to the National Crime Agency.
There are many types of nitazenes – currently 14 have become Class A drugs on Wednesday under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
According to medical journal The Lancet, etonitazene has a potency of 500 compared to heroin, which was rated at one and fentanyl, listed as 50.
The drug was originally manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry in the 1950s and 1960s as a pain-relief medication and anaesthesia.
However, they discovered to be so potent that they were never approved or marketed as a medicine.
Since 2019, nitazenes have re-emerged within illegal drug supplies in the UK as well as the US and other European countries.
She tells us: “When you do a toxicology test, you need to know what you're looking for and unless you're testing for something, you're going to miss it.
"In addition to that, because they're so potent they're quite difficult to detect because only a small amount is needed to prove fatal and some of the machines just aren't sensitive enough.
"This is a bit like if you are at a self-service checkout in the supermarket and you put a greetings card on the way in scale, and the machine doesn't recognize it's there.
"It's not that the card is not there, it's just that it's so light. There's there's not enough weight to it for this machine to recognize. And that's what can happen with these nitazenes."
Pastor Mick Fleming, of the Burnley-based charity Church On The Street, says he has witnessed a surge in heroin addict deaths since the start of the year, which he believes is linked to nitazenes.
The reformed gangster and drug addict tells The Sun: "These users have a high tolerance and know how to use, so they are not the type of people who normally die from overdoses.
“Now they are dropping down dead in increasing numbers, we know there must be something in the heroin supply chain and we believe it’s nitazenes.
“This is colossal and it’s across the country. What we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg and this will become a summer of death if more isn’t done immediately.
I've seen horrible incidents where a kilo of Nitazene was being sold, which is a ridiculously huge amount.
Dr Caroline Copeland
“It’s a dire warning to all drug users but the public as well - you will see someone who has overdosed on the streets or in a toilet, if you haven’t seen it already.
“Heroin used to be thought of as a ticking time bomb, now we are facing a bomb that is exploding and we’re only just seeing the beginning of the problem.”
Following today's law change, those caught in the supply and production of certain synthetic opioids could be imprisoned for life and those in possession could face up to seven years.
The Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "Placing these toxic drugs under the strictest controls sends a clear message that the consequences for peddling them will be severe."
Fifteen additional synthetic opioids are now under the strictest controls, in line with fentanyl, to prevent drug related deaths in the UK and ensure anyone caught supplying these substances faces tough penalties.
The new synthetic opioids, which have been made Class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 today, are:
Five other drugs have also been banned today, including 3 stimulants - diphenidine, ephenidine and methoxyphenidine - which create similar effects to ketamine. These can cause complications such as seizures and liver failure and are now controlled as Class B drugs.
The most recent figures put the death toll linked to nitazenes in the UK at 101 since last summer – with 76 of them occurring in England.
In January, the Faculty of Public Health warned of a "second wave" of deaths related to the drugs in the UK, with experts adding that current figures do not reveal the true extent of the problem.
Dr Mark Pucci, who has treated overdose victims, believes the numbers are a significant underestimation due to flawed data collection.
The consultant in clinical toxicology, who works in Birmingham and Sandwell, told the BBC: “I believe there are very few NHS labs around the country that are set up to test for nitazenes.
"I do believe England is behind the curve on this matter and is now playing catch up.
"The data collection method they are using in terms of testing drug paraphernalia is only ever going to be the tip of the iceberg."
Similarly, Dr Judith Yates, who has collected data about the deaths in Birmingham, believes the Government needs to look into non-fatal overdoses.
It is believed this would help to show where the drugs have spread, which could help to predict and prevent deaths.
Signs that someone may have taken one of these drugs:
Source: Talk to Frank
Nitazenes are not only believed to have infiltrated heroin supplies but also the counterfeit drug market too.
They are being mixed into medications sold on the dark web and online, including anti-anxiety drugs, like Xanax, and diazepam and pain relief pills like codeine.
Dr Copeland adds: "Online pharmacies are not well regulated and some have been found to be selling counterfeit medication."
Nitazenes are also available wholesale on the dark web too.
Dr Copeland said: "I've seen horrible incidents where a kilo of nitazenes was being sold, which is a ridiculously huge amount.
"Why anyone would need a kilo is beyond me when it's already such a potent drug.
"These are incredibly dangerous and people who are purchasing drugs through the illicit drug market or online pharmacies need to be really careful."
Pastor Mick, a former gangland criminal who works with drug and alcohol services across the UK, calls for more people to be trained with Naloxone – which can reverse the effects of opioids and potentially save the life of someone who has overdosed.
He says: “We need Naxolone to be available up and down the country and people trained to use it in every local area.
"It needs to be in supermarkets, chemists, and local shops - as well as for the police to be trained to use it, too.
"The drugs world is being transformed by nitazenes, it's already an epidemic, and if we don't see more harm reduction at the heart of society, we will see so many more people die."
