The Drug Enforcement Administration is monitoring emerging threats from potent synthetic substances, including nitazenes and cychlorphine, that are being found mixed with fentanyl, according to the DEA’s “Emerging Drug Trends” guidance.
Here are five things to know:
1. Law enforcement and public health officials are seeing fentanyl combined with xylazine, nitazenes, cychlorphine and medetomidine. Many of these substances are not approved for human use and are often undetectable to users.
2. Some emerging synthetic drugs can be significantly more potent than fentanyl, increasing the risk of fatal overdose. The substances are frequently mixed into counterfeit pills or fentanyl powder without users’ knowledge.
3. The combinations also complicate overdose response. Xylazine and medetomidine are not opioids, meaning naloxone may not fully reverse their effects. Nitazenes and cychlorphine may require several doses of naloxone to be effective, the agency said.
4. Xylazine has also been linked to severe soft tissue damage, infections and prolonged sedation. Other synthetic substances can cause rapid respiratory depression and death.
5. The DEA recommends carrying naloxone, seeking training in its use and calling 911 immediately in cases of suspected drug poisoning or overdose.
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