If you happen to abuse fentanyl or you’re the parent, family member, partner, or friend of someone struggling with fentanyl use disorder, this is the article for you.
If you’re someone who uses marijuana, cocaine, or heroin—or care for someone who does—this article is also tremendously important for your health and your community’s well-being.
If you or a loved one belong to a social group, neighborhood, larger community, state, or if you’re an American citizen, this blog is also of utmost importance for your safety and that of everyone you know.
Why?
Nitazenes, a new synthetic opioid, has hit the streets. Its reach could become wide and lethal—touching people who have no interest or necessity for the drug and never intend to use it.
Before you continue reading, remember that Waypoint Recovery Center has two locations ready to support you and your family. Explore our residential addiction treatment options in Cameron for more intensive support and monitoring. You can also rely on our intensive outpatient program (IOP) that we run out of North Charleston. Whatever ends up being the best avenue for you, we’ll do all we can to protect you and educate you about this latest obstacle in the fight against opioids.
Your Guide To Understanding South Carolina’s New Threat in the Opioid Crisis
Nitazenes, originally created in the 50’s, were always known to be too strong to sell on the pharmaceutical market. Intended to treat chronic or unbearable pain, they were never approved for medical use. Here’s some more insight as to why:
- They can be 10 to 100 times more potent than morphine
- Some variants are up to 40 times stronger than fentanyl
- They come in various forms: powders, pills, liquids, and even nasal sprays
The other frightening element of nitazenes is that it can appear in casual, normalized, or legal recreational drugs like marijuana. It’s also finding its way into counterfeit pain pills, heroin, cocaine, and synthetic cannabis (often referred to as spice).
The danger here is that people who historically never went near opioids are now unknowingly subject to nitazenes consumption. For example, someone who habitually uses marijuana may have no ties to heroin-use communities—or even cocaine-infused social dynamics. But, they may purchase synthetic THC products that contain nitazenes. When and if they do, they could be put at risk for a lethal overdose.
This is a curveball. In many cases, when someone has a history of opioid addiction, friends and family may have more familiarity with overdose symptoms. They may have enough experience to know exactly when an overdose is occuring. This could mean detecting the following and acting immediately to administer naloxone, a go-to opioid overdose remedy:
- Impaired or decreased consciousness
- Slow or shallow breathing, signaling respiratory depression or distress
- Constricted or pinpoint pupils
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pale skin and/or low blood pressure
- Slowed or decreased heart rate
For someone smoking marijuana, these signs often won’t immediately signal an opioid overdose. By extension, if you sporadically use cocaine, your loved ones or the people around you at the time of using may not automatically realize these symptoms indicate a nitazenes overdose. Sadly, nitazeness’s undetected infusion into various substances delays naloxone as an effective medication.
Key Takeaways For Protection Against Nitazenes
Across the United States, nitazenes are scaring medical personnel and everyday citizens alike. All of our health officials in Cameron and North Charleston are working to educate themselves and their communities about the other alarming elements of nitazenes consumption:
- Most people can’t detect nitazenes when they buy substances from illegal drug markets, even when deliberately using technology to do so
- If someone typically uses fentanyl, nitazenes consumption can create a more intense withdrawal, which can also trigger dangerous medical complications
- Presently, many state laws and policies are not fully aware of nitazenes’s existence, making it easier for penalizing the manufacturing, sale, and consumption of the drug
- A nitazenes overdose may require several rounds of naloxone to be administered
Understanding these aspects of nitazenes can help you act more quickly, prevent accidental nitazenes consumption, and greater awareness of the impact of the opioid crisis.
Visit North Charleston To Learn More About Nitazenes Protection
We want to encourage all of our readers to contact us today. Our teams in either location can provide more insight and advice regarding the potential for nitazenes overdose. We can also lay out all available services for treating opioid addiction and substance abuse. With expert detox teams, a fully equipped facility, and trauma-informed care: we’re here to participate in the battle against nitazenes alongside you!
