Illicit drug dealers have started mixing a group of opioid alternatives developed more than 60 years ago with fentanyl and heroin to create dangerous and potent drug cocktails that pose risks for unsuspecting users and challenges for public health officials.
The drugs, called nitazenes or benzimidazole-subclass opioids, were first created in the late 1950s. Swiss chemical company CIBA Aktiengesellschaft developed protonitazene, metonitazene and other synthetic substances of the benzimidazole structural class as alternatives to morphine.
They have since emerged as drugs of abuse, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. A 2022 World Health Organization report on protonitazene found the drug was slightly more potent than fentanyl.