Nitazenes
Nitazenes
- Nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids; they are structurally 2-benzyl benzimidazoles
- They were developed in the 1950s but never approved for medical use
- Examples include:
- Metonitazene
- Protonitazene
- Isotonitazene
- Etonitazene
- They are significantly more potent than fentanyl (10x) and diamorphine (50-500x), thus carrying high risk of opioid-related side-effects
- They are increasingly found as either contaminant or adulterant in street drugs sold as opioids, benzodiazepines or cannabinoids
- There are an increasing number of deaths attributable or related to nitazene ingestion both in the UK and across Europe
- Effects are reverse with naloxone