Just under 37 per cent of drug samples submitted to the Welsh Emerging Drug Identification Service (WEDINOS) over the last year contained substances other than those the buyer was expecting, says Public Health Wales – evidence of an ever more ‘complex and unpredictable’ drug market.
The latest WEDINOS annual report, which covers the period from April 2025 to March 2026, says that nitazenes, novel benzodiazepines being sold as diazepam, and synthetic cannabinoids in products marketed as CBD, THC or cannabis vapes all remain in circulation, raising concerns about harm and potential overdose. However, the programme has also identified emerging high potency orphine analogues for the first time – often in samples submitted as heroin. ‘While nitazenes have been a concern among health workers and drug services for the past few years, the WEDINOS report highlights the presence of orphine analogues as a growing concern within the UK illicit drug market,’ Public Health Wales states.
The latest quarterly RADAR report from Public Health Scotland found that nitazenes had been detected in 13 per cent of deaths positive for a controlled drug over the period March to May this year, while a report from researchers at King’s College London in February warned that the overall number of deaths related to nitazenes had likely been underestimated by up to a third, as the substances are often undetectable by the time post-mortem blood samples are analysed.
‘Our work at WEDINOS over the past year demonstrates again the continuing volatility of illicit drug markets, and the high level of substitutions within the market that may increase the risk of ill effects and accidental overdose,’ said head of programme for substance misuse at Public Health Wales, Rick Lines. ‘In particular, the growing detection of high potency orphine analogues – some of which have never been seen by WEDINOS before – continues to highlight concerns about the presence of high potency synthetic opiates in the UK drug market. The public health harm reduction work that WEDINOS is part of, alongside partners from across Wales and the wider UK, is vitally important to enable greater understanding emerging threats and to reducing the risk of accidental overdose.’