Browsing: nitazenes use in Africa

• Highly potent opioids, nitazenes, a drug up to 100 times more potent than heroin, were found in 83% of drug samples in Sierra Leone and 55% in Guinea-Bissau.
• This discovery marks a dangerous escalation in the African drug crisis.
• Nitazenes has been linked to overdose deaths in Western countries and parts of Asia.

The persistent menace of drug and substance abuse is set to worsen with new revelations that for the first time, traces of highly potent opioids, known as nitazenes, have been found among hard drug users in Africa. This discovery was made by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a non-profit organization, through an extensive report released this week.

Nitazenes, synthetic opioids notorious for their potency, have previously been linked to overdose deaths in Western countries and parts of Asia. Their newfound presence in Africa marks a dangerous escalation in the continent’s drug crisis.

The