The United Nations medicines agency warns that the use of nitazene, a drug that can be more powerful than fentanyl, is spreading across Europe and North America.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said synthetic opioids have been detected in the UK, US, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium and Canada. Its latest World Drug Report.
In addition, the number of deaths due to nitazene overdose also increased.
Super-potent drugs, of which there are many types, are significantly stronger than heroin. Their appearance has led to urgent warnings from health authorities around the world.
It follows one ban poppy cultivation in Afghanistancausing opium production to decrease by 95% by 2022.
The UNODC report says it is too early to know what long-term effects this may have on factors such as heroin purity, but it will likely lead to heroin users switching to other forms of heroin. other opioids, which could “lead to an increase in overdoses”.
ONE BBC investigation earlier this year nitazene was found to be being smuggled into the UK inside dog food and drinks, and being offered for sale on social media.
The UK has classified nitazene as a Class A drug, and anyone caught producing or supplying it faces life in prison. But experts say the government has been too slow in getting the drug off the streets.
Fentanyl, another synthetic opioid, is 50 times more potent than heroin. The widely publicized epidemic in the US contributed to 100,000 deaths in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The UNODC report states that “illegally produced fentanyl” is still behind the “unprecedented number of drug overdose deaths”, a number that “may gradually decrease”.
Global drug use has increased 20% over the past decade to 292 million users in 2022, the report said.
Cannabis remains the most widely used with 228 million users worldwide. Next is:
- Opium – 60 million
- Amphetamine – 30 million
- Cocaine – 23 million
- Ecstasy – 20 million
