There are roughly 4,500 known reasons not to abuse opioids, but brother, this latest one is maybe near the top of the list:
Nitazene compounds were first synthesized in the 1950s for pharmaceutical research, and more recently, began to crop up in the illicit drug market in 2019.
These synthetic opioids are typically combined with other drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, as they're cheap to manufacture and pack a powerful punch. The drugs have been found to be anywhere from 2 to 40 times stronger than fentanyl, which has fueled an unprecedented number of drug overdose deaths.
Earlier this week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) warned residents that authorities have reported an increase in the prevalence of the drug over the last year.
Over 100,000 people died from overdoses in the U.S. last year, especially due to fentanyl.
Nitazene is even more lethal, and the problem is, quite obviously, getting a lot worse, very quckly:
The Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) reported 143 nitazene cases in Ohio for the first quarter of 2022, a significant increase from the 27 cases the same time last year.
You can't really say it any better than late NBC President Brandon Tartikoff said it:
Okay there are some better ways to say it then that but the message is the same: Don't do drugs. Just don't do em!
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
