Two New Drugs Are Exacerbating the Overdose Crisis

According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been an increase in the number of overdose deaths and drug busts. The drugs are more potent than the drug Fentanyl, but they can still be reversed with the medicine Narcan.

The report was published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Thursday and is based on national data collected from law enforcement seizures as well as toxicology data from theKCRFC in Tennessee.

In November 2020, Tennessee coroners began to see overdoses that involved the drug para-fluorofentanyl; in January 2021, they began to see metonitazene pop up. Drug use increased from 2020 to early 2021. Over time, reports of people dying from either alone or in combination with the drugs have increased. There were 562 overdose deaths that tested positive for fentanyl reported by the KCRFC from November 2020 to August 2021, of which 48 involved para-fluorofentanyl and 26 involved metonitazene. Other states have reported the emergence of novel drugs on the market.

Before it was classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the federal government, para-fentanyl saw some popularity in the black market. Metonitazene is a synthetic drug. These drugs have never been used in a clinical setting due to health concerns. According to the report author, metonitazene and para-fentanyl are more likely to cause life-threatening overdoses than fentanyl, which is already a more potent opiate than heroin.

These victims just collapsed. Mileusnic-Polchan told the AP that they don't inject the full syringe before they overdose.

Because both drugs have opiate properties and are often taken with Fentanyl, the antidote can still reverse potentially fatal overdose symptoms like respiratory depression. The authors of the CDC report are concerned that it will take more than one dose of the drug to save the victims. The report authors say that the combination of these drugs with other drugs is likely to cause more harm to the patient than previously thought.

The overdose crisis has continued to get worse. More than 100,000 Americans are estimated to have died from an overdose in 2020. Despite successful efforts to limit the use of legal opioids to patients, the increase has happened despite this, which has led many experts and patient advocates to question the effectiveness of these policies. Increased access to medication assisted treatments, safe injection/consumption sites, and other harm reduction methods have been called for by many organizations. Dozens of overdoses have been reversed in New York City, where the country's first legal sites opened late last year.