What is Isotonitazene?

A new synthetic drug is raising concern as it replaces the deadly drug fentanyl. Isotonitazene has become the leading drug to cause overdoses for those who use it. What is Isotonitazene? Isotonitazene, more commonly known as ISO, is replacing Fentanyl as the most deadly street drug in the US. Because the drug is so new, […]

A new synthetic drug is raising concern as it replaces the deadly drug fentanyl.

Isotonitazene has become the leading drug to cause overdoses for those who use it.

What is Isotonitazene?

Isotonitazene, more commonly known as ISO, is replacing Fentanyl as the most deadly street drug in the US.

Because the drug is so new, it was not listed as an illegal substance and was, therefore, able to be sold online, with purchases coming through websites on the dark web.

According to doctors, ISO is 20-100 times stronger than Fentanyl and has led to a number of overdoses, which can also occur secondhand when an individual smells it or if it comes into contact with their skin.

ISO is made in both free base and salt form and can be brown, yellow, or white powders.

The drug can also be used in liquid form, making it conceivable that those buying ISO may think they are taking a different drug.

It has primarily been found in Florida and it has been linked to overdose deaths among spring breakers and has contributed to other overdoses in the midwest.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a warning on ISO in early March and said, “Isotonitazene … is so strong that it can kill just by coming in contact with someone’s skin or being accidentally inhaled.

“ISO has already been linked to overdose deaths in Florida, so please, never take any illicit drug and know that using just one time could cost you your life.”

What happens if ISO is consumed?

Once ingested, ISO will directly target the central nervous system in the individual’s brain.

The effect the drug has on the body is attributed to the dose – the higher the dose, the greater the effect.

The major side effect of ISO consumption is that it will lead to life-threatening overdose which will affect the individual’s respiratory tract, causing their breathing to slow, and eventually stop.

Because ISO is a newer drug on the market, it is not well-known to healthcare personnel and law enforcement, making it difficult to ascertain if it is the cause of an overdose.

ISO doesn’t show up on routine drug screenings, which delays the option for Narcan, a life-saving drug for overdose victims, to be administered.

“The emergence of this novel synthetic opioid is a major public health concern,” Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City told Medical Press.

“The fact that it has similar potency to fentanyl makes it ripe for abuse and misuse, leading to respiratory depression, along with increased risk for death.”

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How did ISO make it to the US?

The substance is found to be illegally manufactured in China and is shipped to Mexico where it is then smuggled into the US.

It was originally developed in Belgium and Germany for medical use and research but was discontinued when it was found to be too potent.

ISO was first discovered as the cause of overdose deaths in Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Kentucky in 2019, and it has spread in the following years.

It is now mixed with Cocaine, resulting in a lethal concoction that becomes deadly once ingested and doctors warn it can cause death just from having contact with your skin.

The drug was found to have caused between forty and fifty deaths every month in 2020 and was subsequently classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no safe or acceptable use in the US and is considered high risk for abuse.

Comparably, LSD and heroin are also classified as Schedule 1 drugs.

Mark Geary lost his son in 2021 when he unknowingly ingested ISO when he thought he was taking Hydrocodone.

“I never heard of ISO, and she explained it’s a more powerful drug than fentanyl,” Geary told the New York Post.

“I believe that this is going to be the new fentanyl, like fentanyl was to heroin … where they thought it was heroin killing people, and it ended up being fentanyl.

“Now I believe a lot of fentanyl deaths, if they take a second look at it, it’s going to be ISO.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).