The Addictovigilance association warns against the emergence in France of nitazenes, a new class of synthetic opioids with a high risk of overdose.
- The French Addictovigilance network aims to monitor all psychoactive substances with abuse potential, including medicines, other legal and illegal substances such as new psychoactive substances (NPS) and their health consequences in humans.
- He is now warning of the emergence in France of nitazenes, a new family of particularly powerful synthetic opioids which cause a high risk of overdose.
- “Nitazenes are not detectable by traditional urine tests,” warns the association, which invites all health professionals (emergency doctors, toxicologists, addictologists, etc.) to be vigilant in the face of these new synthetic drugs.
“Approximately 500 times the analgesic potency of morphine.” L’French Association of Addictovigilance Centers sounds the alarm about the risks of nitazenes, this new family of particularly powerful synthetic opioids (isotonitazene, protonitazene, etc.) which are appearing in France and overseas.
Nitazenes causing respiratory depression, death, etc.
These compounds, initially developed as analgesics in the 1950s and then abandoned, reappeared on the recreational substance market in 2019 in the United States, Canada and even Europe. Their presence was reported in France in spring 2023, involved in clusters of poisonings in Occitanie and Reunion Island, with serious clinical consequences such as severe toxic syndromes with life-threatening prognosis, respiratory depression, and even deaths. .
“Their pharmacological potency – approximately 500 times the analgesic potency of morphine for isotonitazene – makes the intensity of the effects felt difficult to predict, even if users report small quantities consumed”explains the association in a communicated. She recalls that nitazenes can sometimes be found clandestinely in various products, notably powders and counterfeit medicines, alone or combined with other molecules, including heroin.
Nitazenes not detectable by traditional urine screening
Addictovigiliance invites all health professionals (emergency doctors, toxicologists, addictologists, etc.) to be vigilant in the face of these new synthetic drugs. She recalls that naloxone, a medication which temporarily reverses the effects of nitazenes, must be considered as an essential prevention tool, both for users and their loved ones.
“Nitazenes are not detectable by conventional urine tests, whether by immunochemistry or first-line chromatographic screening”alerts the monitoring association. “In addition, the presence of heroin – likely to be positive in the opiate immunochemical screen – does not exclude the presence of nitazene in the product consumed. Thus, any discrepancy between the clinic and the analytical table and/or the response to administration of naloxone should suggest the presence of a new synthetic opioid.”
If in doubt, it is recommended to keep the samples and contact the Addictovigilance centers for further evaluation.
