Dangerous New Street Drug Found in Counterfeit Painkillers
/By Pat Anson, PNN Editor
A dangerous new street drug that’s even stronger than fentanyl has been found in counterfeit opioid painkillers seized during a police raid on Canada’s eastern seaboard.
Like fentanyl, isotonitazene is a potent synthetic opioid that is many times stronger than heroin or morphine. In recent months, isotonitazene was detected in over a dozen overdose deaths in Illinois and Indiana, where it was mixed with cocaine. The drug has also recently been found in New Brunswick and Alberta, and has been connected to at least two overdose deaths in Calgary.
Now it is being used to make counterfeit pain medication.
Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia seized 1,900 white tablets from a Halifax home last month while conducting a drug investigation. The pills were sent to Health Canada for a laboratory analysis, which confirmed the tablets were made with isotonitazene.
The pills have an “M” on one side and the number “8” on the other side – making them virtually identical to an 8mg Dilaudid (hydromorphone) tablet.
SOURCE: HALIFAX POLICE
“The appearance of the pill may lead people to believe they are consuming a different drug. Given the potency of the drug, a person may need several doses of naloxone to counter an overdose caused by isotonitazene,” Halifax police said in a statement.
No overdoses have been linked to isotonitazene in Halifax, but police are urging anyone who consumes the pills to seek immediate medical attention.
The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education released a public safety alert last November, when isotonitazene was first linked to overdoses deaths in the Midwest.
“Pharmacological data suggest that this group of synthetic opioids have potency similar to or greater than fentanyl based on their structural modifications,” the alert warns. “The toxicity of isotonitazene has not been extensively studied but recent association with drug user death leads professionals to believe this new synthetic opioid retains the potential to cause widespread harm and is of public health concern.”
Although law enforcement and public health officials have only recently become aware of the threat posed by isotonitazene, illicit drug users have been warning each other about isotonitazene for several months in online message boards.
“I wanted to let the community know that the potency is far above the 60x morphine that's listed online. Everyone should be VERY careful when handling this compound,” one poster warned on Reddit.
