A new bipartisan bill is aiming to stop the spread of nitazenes, a deadly synthetic opioid that’s 40 times stronger than fentanyl and already causing a new wave of overdose deaths.
The two lawmakers spearheading the bill, Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., and Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., both of whom took to social media to lobby for the legislation.
These drugs are the next fentanyl: cheap to make, easy to traffic, and devastating families across America,” Vindman wrote on ‘X.’ “This threat won’t wait, neither can we,” Baumgartner also posted.
While speaking with Dr. Shravani Durbhakula about nitazenes last fall, she told The National News Desk the synthetic opioids were first detected in the U.S. over five years ago. The most common form, five to nine times stronger than fentanyl. But others could be up to 40 times more potent. All are resistant to Narcan.
They were developed in the 1950s and the 1960s but they were not approved by the FDA because of how potent they actually are. They quickly make people stop breathing. Sedate them,” said Durbhakula.
This year, the U.S. is seeing a rise in nitazene overdose deaths. A map put together by the New York Post showed the areas most affected, which span from New Mexico to Virginia. Drug Enforcement Administration Houston Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen recently told the Post, just as authorities in the U.S. and China increased efforts to tackle the surge in fentanyl, drug manufacturers shifted production to nitazenes.
I do think we are behind the curve. But that’s been the case with these synthetic opioids — that they shift,” Pullen said.
According to Pullen, nitazenes are produced in China, often with the help of Mexican cartels who then move north across the border. But although the federal government is making headway to tackle the threat, including President Trump’s border crackdown, more work needs to be done.
It’s very very difficult to stay ahead of it, so we’ve got to continue to step up our enforcement along the border,” said Pullen.
In addition to increased border security, the Trump administration has also hit China and Mexico with sanctions and tariffs to force foreign governments to act against illicit drug producers.
Hellbound and Down 