Nitazene becomes newest drug to cause concern for White Co. law enforcement

While a new drug hits the streets of Tennessee, White County’s sheriff puts concerns to ease, for the time being. Nitazenes are a powerful synthetic opioid developed in the 1950s, and doctors across the state are warning about the dangers it poses as a drug.

Dr. Shravani Durbhakula, associate professor of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine at Vanderbilt University, said, “Nitazenes are synthetic opioids, they are hundreds of times more powerful than fentanyl. The most common type we are seeing is about 20 times more powerful than fentanyl, but there are many forms, and they are being laced into other drugs right now.”

The drug was originally intended for pharmaceutical use clinically, but the drug was too potent to justify. As a result, it was shelved and forgotten about until illicit drugs began to show traces of it.

Thankfully, White County has had no sightings of the drug yet. When speaking with Sheriff Steve Page, he said, “We haven’t seen it here yet, but we’re aware of it and keeping our guys trained to find stuff like that. The biggest uptick here is in fentanyl. We’re still fighting fentanyl overdoses all the time.”

While Nitazenes are more powerful than regular fentanyl, it only takes around two milligrams of fentanyl to overdose depending on body weight.