The Llano Police Dept. issued a warning after three overdose cases reported in the last month were linked to the synthetic drug nitazene. Llano police say the toxicology screens of the overdose patients showed nitazenes. Nitazenes are synthetic opioids that are significantly stronger than fentanyl, according to the DEA. In each case, police say medics had to use more naloxone (Narcan) than usual to reverse the effects of the overdose.
The police department also said it has been made aware of the increasing presence of counterfeit pills known as “Blues,” which are made to resemble the appearance of oxycodone, an opioid painkiller. The police department also mentioned the possible presence of xylazine, or “tranq,” which is used as a tranquilizer in animals and has not been approved for human use. They were originally engineered in the 1950s to act as painkillers, but were never given approval for medical use because of their highly addictive nature.
According to a study conducted in March by the DEA, different nitazenes began appearing more frequently in drug supply in the United States sometime around 2019. The drug also started to show up more frequently in the blood samples of people who overdosed.
More than 20 different nitazene compounds have been identified, according to the National Capital Poison Center.
