The Deadly Impact of Synthetic Opioids

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The chapter explores the tragic consequences of nitazenes and xylazine, potent synthetic opioids, on communities in the US and UK, shedding light on their rise and the dangers they pose. It also discusses the detection of these drugs in the illegal drug supply and the alarming increase in fatalities linked to their usage.

Social affairs correspondent Robert Booth tells Madeleine Finlay why a class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, first developed in the 1950s, is leading to a worrying number of fatal overdoses in the UK. And she hears from toxicology and addiction specialist Dr Joseph D’Orazio about a tranquilliser called xylazine that has been showing up in alarming volumes in the US illegal drug supply and is now starting to appear in toxicology reports in the UK. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod