Home Search
nitazenes - search results
Search results are sorted by relevance, please use the links in the sidebar to filter your search.
Changing the nitazene narrative
We can all agree – the presence of nitazenes in the heroin supply is a problem. It’s a problem that has more than likely caused more than 400 people to lose their lives in the UK, with many more overdoses on the cards. Their emergence should also have come as no surprise – the […]
Now hear this
Nitazenes have been a topic of conversation for well over a year in the UK, as we have had multiple instances of clusters of lives lost in short periods due to contaminated drug supplies. Treatment providers have responded to fears of a nitazene-adulterated drug supply by increasing naloxone provision, providing nitazene testing strips, […]
Testing the limits
[…] Alive campaign stated that drugs are changing, and this is even more true in 2024. A range of drugs across the UK continues to be contaminated with nitazenes, synthetic cannabinoids, novel benzodiazepines and occasionally xylazine. The risk of overdose leading to death or other adverse consequences remains very high. Nitazenes can be up to […]
Stayin’ alive
A new family of synthetic opioids, known as nitazenes, have adulterated a number of illicit drugs in the UK. It’s not clear exactly when this began, but evidence of them being present in cocaine and heroin was detected in 2021. Nitazenes are broadly equipotent to the fentanyls – or in layman’s terms, they’re many times […]
Nitazenes detected in 25 Scottish drug deaths
Highly potent nitazenes have now been detected in 25 Scottish drug-related deaths since last year, according to data from Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) latest Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) early warning system. PHS first warned about the presence of nitazenes in Scotland’s drug supply at the start of the year The figures, […]
DDN_November_2023
[…] partnership packages provide an opportunity to work closely with the magazine. Please get in touch to find out more. The campaign to inform people about potentially deadly nitazenes is an essential one (p6). But as well as vital information, we also want to share the efforts to work together across service boundaries to engage […]
Nitazenes ‘increasingly posing major health risks’, warns UNODC
The emergence of nitazenes is ‘increasingly posing major health risks in some countries’, according to UNODC’s World drug report 2024. More new nitazenes than fentanyl analogues are now being reported in Europe ‘The number of new unique nitazenes at the global level is now approaching the number of fentanyl analogues not under international control,’ […]
Before it’s too late
We’ve had more than enough time to prepare for the crisis we’re facing with nitazenes and other synthetic opioids. It’s vital we do the right things now, says Kevin Flemen. We should be very concerned about the issue of high-potency novel opioids. While increased media coverage and the establishment of a ‘cross-government task force […]
Harm reduction flyers on nitazenes
Release, alongside EuroNPUD and other drug treatment service colleagues in the UK, have produced harm reduction advice on nitazenes. There has been an increase of nitazenes detected across the UK drug supply. These substances are a class of synthetic opioids that are believed to be as strong (or stronger) than fentanyl. The 2022 Afghan […]
DDN conference 2024: session one
The first session of Stronger Together explored how people could unite to address the ever-increasing risks from nitazenes and other potent synthetic drugs. ‘In 2021 when I first joined Turning Point there was a series of overdoses from something that we all called ‘iso’, because nobody could pronounce it,’ Turning Point’s national safer lives […]
Nitazenes – new drugs, new risks
A BBC investigation has found that dozens of illegal suppliers are advertising nitazenes openly on the internet and sending them in the post from China, where they are being manufactured. Forward Trust, a national addiction recovery charity, says that the findings from this investigation confirm what we have feared – that the illegal drugs […]
Government bans 14 nitazenes
Fifteen more synthetic opioids, including 14 nitazenes, have been controlled as class A substances, the Home Office has announced. The government has also introduced its tobacco and vapes bill While the government’s priority is to ‘engage with vulnerable people at risk of being sold these lethal drugs and divert them towards treatment’, anyone caught […]
Six new nitazenes detected in ‘rapidly evolving’ European drug market last year
Six of the seven new synthetic opioids reported for the first time to the EU Early Warning System (EWS) last year were nitazenes, according to the EMCDDA’s European drug report 2024 – the highest number notified in a single year. More than 80 new synthetic opioids have appeared in the European drug market since 2009 […]
SDF launches nitazenes resource pack
The Scottish Drugs Forum has launched a nitazenes resource pack for people at risk of overdose, their families and friends, and service staff. The resources include booklets and posters, and will be accompanied by social media posts. The resources were produced in partnership with service providers and other organisations, and are endorsed by the […]
Met seizes 150,000 nitazene tablets
[…] were sold via the dark web, using encrypted chat applications and social media’, the police state. Around £8,000 in cryptocurrency stored on hard drives was also seized. Nitazenes are extremely potent synthetic opioids that are increasingly being found in the UK drug supply, including in heroin batches and pills sold as oxycodone or benzodiazepines. […]
Danger zone
[…] drug-related violence’ is taking its toll on Europe, with proliferating drug gangs having a ‘corrosive effect on the fabric of society’. APRIL After the government bans 14 nitazenes in the previous month, a report from King’s College London states that the potent non-opioid xylazine is also now established in the UK’s drug market – […]
No time to lose
[…] the stockpilers cashed in. Alongside rising prices, purity had been falling and supply contraction was beginning to bite. Synthetic opioids were already filling the vacuum. Fentanyls and nitazenes were of utmost concern as they were ‘incredibly dangerous’ – carfentanil was 10,000 stronger than morphine and just a tiny amount of any of these drugs […]
Public Health Scotland issues warning after increase in ‘sudden’ overdoses
[…] Response) report from PHS found the drug supply throughout the country remained ‘highly toxic and unpredictable’. ‘We are very concerned about the presence of synthetic drugs like nitazenes within the unregulated drugs market across Scotland,’ said PHS consultant in public health medicine Dr Tara Shivaji. ‘Nitazenes are potent opioid drugs, which can be many […]
Still kicking
[…] it was more difficult to talk about harm reduction,’ said O’Hare. ‘So it was important to have a united front. The campaign had to happen because of nitazenes but we knew we couldn’t change anything without a bit of tension.’ ‘The conversations on Twitter were about ways of mitigating risks,’ said Rintoul. ‘It became […]
Six more synthetic opioids banned
The government is to ban six new synthetic opioids, it has announced, following the controlling of 14 nitazenes as class A drugs earlier this year. Any new nitazenes detected in the UK will automatically become class A substances The government has written to ACMD to say it will accept their advice to control six […]
Afghanistan sees shift from opium to methamphetamine production
[…] opium ban a year later. Many people fear that the opium ban – if sustained and successful – will see heroin replaced by far more potent fentanyls and nitazenes in the drug market, with significantly higher risks of overdose. There have already been several reports of nitazenes entering the UK’s drug supply, with agencies warning […]
Cranstoun response to Scottish drug deaths: evidence must prevail to prevent tragedy
[…] daughters, partners and loved ones. The trauma and suffering through generations is unthinkable, and action must be taken immediately to alleviate the suffering and stop the deaths. Nitazenes were involved in 23 deaths, up from 1 from the year prior The data worryingly revealed that synthetic benzodiazepine bromazalam was involved in 426 deaths, with […]
Highest ever drug death total for England and Wales
[…] empathetic, easily and immediately accessible, and provided free from stigma’, added WithYou’s interim chief executive Hayley Savage. ‘Cocaine deaths continue to rise and polydrug use is increasing. Nitazenes and other synthetic opioids are also being increasingly identified in drugs like heroin and illicit benzodiazepines. With the majority of drug-related deaths connected to opiates and […]
Review of the year – 2023
[…] about unusually strong opioids, with clusters of fatal overdoses around the country. Drugs sold as heroin, oxycodone and ‘street benzos’ are being found to contain fentanyls and nitazenes, the organisations point out. DDN heads to Birmingham for its 15th annual service user conference, Many Roads. While it’s no longer socially acceptable to stigmatise people […]
Myanmar overtakes Afghanistan as largest opium source
[…] about highly potent synthetic opioids. WEDINOS, the drug testing service operated by the agency, has received more than 20 samples of benzodiazepines that were found to contain nitazenes since September. The samples included substances being sold as diazepam and alprazolam – both ‘street benzos’ and drugs bought online by people ‘likely believing them to […]
Better data sharing needed to tackle opioid crisis, warns Cranstoun
[…] from Cranstoun. The document has been published in response to the increasing number of accounts of parts of the UK’s heroin supply being contaminating by highly potent nitazenes. Among the report’s other recommendations are the scaling up of properly funded drug checking services and testing kits, increasing naloxone supply, scaling up provision of diamorphine-assisted […]
Lincolnshire police reach milestone in life-saving naloxone training
[…] to drugs are still people, they just need help.’ The Home Office has projected an increase in drug-related deaths due to the rise in synthetic opioids like nitazenes, which are up to 500 times more potent than heroin. Recent figures indicate at least 400 drug-related deaths across the UK linked to nitazenes. Last year, […]
Unintended consequences
[…] existing legislation in countries which have not yet imposed blanket bans on psychoactive substances. We are also continuing to see drugs sold as benzodiazepines that instead contain nitazenes, a category of synthetic opioid. Analysis of WEDINOS data by the Benzo Research Project found that of all the drug samples they received containing a nitazene […]
Government announces plans to ban xylazine
[…] from responsible policymaking and is more typical of sensationalist media coverage than official government communications.’ Among the other drugs covered by the forthcoming legislation are variations of nitazenes Among the other drugs covered by the forthcoming legislation are variations of nitazenes, while the statutory instrument will also introduce a new generic definition of nitazenes […]
Taking drugs has never been more dangerous, warns NCA
[…] the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned in its annual assessment of serious and organised crime. There has been a ‘significant escalation in the criminal use of nitazenes’ as a cheap way of increasing the strength of drugs – particularly heroin – and users often ‘simply do not know what they are consuming’, the […]
DDN Conference – video highlights
[…] below for a quick recap of the day… SESSION ONE The first session of Stronger Together explored how people could unite to address the ever-increasing risks from nitazenes and other potent synthetic drugs Deb Hussey and Jude Duncan from Turning Point demonstrated the importance of peer-led education and engagement in tackling the ongoing risks […]
Raising the alarm on synthetic opioids – why the UK should not be complacent
[…] by The Forward Trust. You can read the original post here. Related articles: (Features, November 2023): Stayin’ Alive, Now’s the time to get out strong messages on nitazenes – Information and resources. (News, August 2023): Better utilisation of data and data sharing, including early warning systems, is needed to address the escalating drug crisis in […]
Release to open Harm Reduction Hub in London
[…] forces preventing change around us to truly bring change. We have tried to do what we can with our current resources: We’ve created harm reduction advice on nitazenes, partnering with organisations to increase their reach We’ve spoken on national media to raise awareness on the dangers of synthetic opioids and what needs to be […]
Street Benzos: Clinical Management That’s Fit for Purpose
[…] these substances also often significantly stronger than legally prescribed ones. Additionally, there have been many recent instances of drugs purported to be benzodiazepines turning out to contain nitazenes. Nitazenes are potent and high-risk synthetic opiates, posing great danger to people who use them. This is especially true for people who use benzodiazepines and don’t […]
Afghan opium cultivation drops by 95 per cent
[…] people of Afghanistan.’ Afghanistan opium survey 2023 available here Related articles: (Features, November 2023): Stayin’ Alive, Clear messaging on the new family of synthetic opioids, known as nitazenes. (News, September 2023): Significant shift in Afghanistan’s drug market, with ‘surging’ levels of methamphetamine production, according to a new UNODC report. (Features, June 2017): Meet the […]
DDN_October_2023
[…] ban a year later. Many people fear that the opium ban â if sustained and successful â will see heroin replaced by far more potent fentanyls and nitazenes in the drug market, with significantly higher risks of overdose. There have already been several reports of nitazenes entering the UKâs drug supply, with agencies warning […]
Xylazine ban comes into force
[…] lesions. The new legislation sees 22 substances banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act, six of which will now be controlled as class A. A generic definition of nitazenes has also been introduced, designed to stop people circumventing the law by adjusting a substance’s composition. A generic definition of nitazenes has also been introduced, designed […]
Local heroes
[…] hit the highest level in 30 years – fuelled by a 30 per cent rise in fatalities involving cocaine and the introduction of synthetic opioids such as nitazenes into the drug supply (DDN, November, page 4). For the London Borough of Hackney, an area with a diverse population and pockets of severe need, these […]
Changing with the times
For this month’s column, we decided it would be best to reflect on what we learned in 2023, and spell out Release’s plans to try and do things differently in 2024 – we’ll be back with another case study in our next regular column. Over the past year, we’ve been adapting our ways of working […]
Government bans 11 synthetic opioids
[…] Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the Home Office has announced. ‘Synthetic opioids are highly dangerous substances, which ruin lives and devastate communities,’ said policing minister Chris Philp. Ten nitazenes, along with brorphine, will be become class A substances, with legislation being brought forward ‘as soon as possible’. ACMD was commissioned to investigate the drugs after […]
Home Office issues new synthetic opioid guidance
[…] collapse’ overdoses, while last year EMCDDA said that all but one of the seven new synthetic opioids reported to the EU’s early warning system were highly potent nitazenes – the highest number notified in a single year. ‘This advice will help save lives by ensuring local authorities know how to respond to incidents more […]
Cranstoun response to new synthetic opioids report
[…] in 2023 alone across both countries – and there is no sign that this problem is going away. The latest data available for the UK shows that nitazenes were linked to 179 deaths over a 12 month period between 1 June 2023 and 31 May 2024. This is a marked increase on the first […]
NHS Scotland issues alert about ‘sudden collapse’ overdoses
[…] cases in other areas people have very sadly died. We’re advising people who use drugs to be extra vigilant.’ Due to the potency of synthetic opioids like nitazenes, you may need to administer multiple doses of naloxone People should also ensure they had ready access to naloxone kits, he added. ‘And due to the […]
Fall in suspected Scottish drug deaths
[…] ‘Drug-checking facilities would enable us to respond faster to emerging drug trends – which is particularly important given the presence of highly dangerous, super-strong synthetic opioids like nitazenes in an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply. These increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death, and are being found in a range of substances.’ […]
Festival spirit
[…] Polydrug use was on the rise in Estonia, said Oja, with increasing rates of drug-related harms. The Baltic states were also seeing a surge in use of nitazenes, he said, as highlighted in the EMCDDA’s latest European drug report (see news, page 4), and with a consequent rise in drug-related deaths. It was a […]
Confidentiality key in drug-checking services, says study
[…] year, Scotland’s death rate remains the highest in Europe and many in the drugs field are concerned about the potential impact of highly potent synthetic opioids like nitazenes on overdose rates. Data from the most recent Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) early warning system found that nitazenes were detected in at least […]
European heroin market worth EUR 5bn a year
[…] the continent. Many drugs organisations are concerned that any decrease in heroin availability caused by the situation in Afghanistan could lead to highly potent synthetic opioids like nitazenes filling the gap in the market, with consequent increases in overdose deaths. ‘Compared to North America, the EU has been impacted to a much lesser extent […]
Another increase in suspected Scottish drug deaths
[…] death rate remains by far the highest in Europe. RADAR has also published an alert about the increased availability of a group of high-potency synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which ‘pose a substantial risk of overdose, drug-related hospitalisation and drug-related death’. Nitazenes are a new addition to Scotland’s drug supply, and have been sold as […]
£267m treatment funding to be rolled out next April
Almost £267m of funding to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services will be rolled out to local authorities next April, the government has announced. The money is part of the ten-year strategy to improve the quality of – and access to – treatment, and follows the £95m made available in 2022-23 and £154m […]
DDN September 2024
The ideas flow… things feel possible ‘We already knew what works.’ This statement referred to peers mobilising with urgency around nitazenes – but it came up again and again throughout the DDN Conference. As each individual or team stepped forward we heard the passion, the evidence and the impact of people with lived/living experience […]
DDN November 2023
‘A unified message cuts through the noise’ The campaign to inform people about potentially deadly nitazenes is an essential one (p6). But as well as vital information, we also want to share the efforts to work together across service boundaries to engage with people at risk. This ‘common responsibility’ led to a unified message […]
Synthetic opioids and reducing risk
In this blog post, Turning Point’s Safer Lives Lead, Deb, sheds light on the emergence of a concerning new class of opioids known as “ nitazenes” and the risks they present. We recently shared a joint statement addressing the evolving nature of drugs available in the UK. As an organisation dedicated to supporting individuals facing substance […]
OHID issues new guidance on dealing with synthetic opioid threats
Updated guidance for commissioners and local services on preparing for, and responding to, incidents involving fentanyl and nitazenes has been issued by OHID. Fentanyls are still causing ‘significant issues’ Fentanyls are still causing ‘significant issues’ in the US and Canada, and there are signs that they are being seen more often in local drug […]