A forgotten opioid has resurfaced as a lethal street drug

A forgotten opioid has resurfaced as a lethal street drug

Nitazenes—a class of highly potent synthetic opioids—are rapidly emerging as a major contributor to the overdose crisis, according to a Pain Medicine review published today by authors from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Forgotten Opioid Has Resurfaced as Lethal Street Drug

Nitazenes -- a class of highly potent synthetic opioids -- are rapidly emerging as a major contributor to the overdose crisis, according to a Pain Medicine review published today by authors from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Originally developed in the 1950s but never approved for clinical use, these substances are over 20 times more potent than fentanyl and hundreds to thousands of times m…