Published: 11/21/2025 | Author: Terri

Fentanyl overdose deaths have been bombarding us in the news for the past several years in seemingly every corner of the nation. While we are still reeling from these tragic events, there is another opioid wreaking havoc that is even more deadly: nitazenes.

According to a recent article in Rolling Stone, another class of opioids is taking an alarming toll. These synthetic products are called nitazenes and although they’ve been around for decades, they’ve only recently started to become ubiquitous on the streets..

The New Wave in the Opioid Crisis

Known also as a benzimidazole opioid, nitazenes began gaining steam in 2019 on the illegal drug market. It started in Europe and made its way into the United States. This growing threat has spread to 19 countries that we are aware of and shows no sign of stopping. 

If you’re curious as to how this is so much more dangerous than fentanyl, it’s because the potency is five to nine times stronger. 

To put it into a clearer context, Brian Townsend, a retired supervisory special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), says that less than 2mg, which is the size of a pencil tip of isotonitazene, the most common form of this opioid, can cause death. 

Untold Lives Lost

Currently, the number of deaths related to nitazenes is not completely transparent. The data isn’t available yet, but two studies have been done that likely underscore the impact of nitazenes. 

One study illustrated that it was at least partially responsible for 200 overdose deaths in Europe and North America from 2020 to 2021. The second study illustrated at least 93 deaths in 2022 from eight cases, mostly coming from the United States. 

These synthetic opioids were created around the same time as fentanyl, in the 1950s, as a medical alternative to the pain reliever, morphine. Since nitazenes were so potent and had a strong potential for overdose, they were never cleared for medical use, only for use in pharmacological research.

But now they’re surging onto America’s streets and infiltrating neighborhoods and communities from coast to coast. And their growing presence may well signal the next deadly wave in the opioid crisis.

If you’re struggling with opioid addiction, you don’t have to be another statistic. Recovery is real.

Find an NA meeting in your area or call 800-934-1582(Sponsored)  for help today.