Opioid deaths in the United States have increased massively over the last year, from around 70,000 to over 100,000. This occurred despite the Chinese government’s agreement with President Donald Trump to crack down on the production of fentanyl. Almost immediately upon China’s crackdown, a new synthetic opioid, isotonitazene appeared on the scene, several times stronger than fentanyl.
Isotonitazene is of the family of benzimidazoles, a class invented in Switzerland in the 1950s. Barry K. Logan, chief scientist at the forensic firm NMS labs, said in March 2020, that isotonitazene had been found in over 200 deceased drug users in the Midwest and Northeast over the previous half-year, beginning in August 2019, stating: “Isotonitazene is the most persistent and prevalent new opioid in the U.S.” Deaths per month had gone from around 6 to 40-50 over that time period.
