(The Center Square) – In recent years, synthetic opioids including copycat versions of fentanyl have taken an opioid crisis that began with prescription painkillers and dragged it to new depths.
Among this new wave is a class of drugs called nitazenes. On Friday, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Debra Bogen announced their temporary rescheduling to a Class I substance.
The reclassification allows law enforcement officers to bring harsher penalties for those caught trafficking and selling the drug.
Nitazenese were developed in the 1950s and are not used in the treatment disease In some cases, they’re more powerful than fentanyl and are often sold in place of or mixed in with other drugs.
“Scheduling nitazenes, which have no acceptable medical use, as Class I substances provides law enforcement with the authority to crack down on its possession and distribution in Pennsylvania,” said Bogen. “Meanwhile, our focus remains on developing strategies that help connect people with substance use disorder with treatment and other resources.”
By law, the scheduling will be temporary for at least a two year period while the state works toward a permanent classification. The action will go into effect Saturday after notice has been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has recommended the same steps be taken at the federal level. On Wednesday, President Trump signed into law the HALT Fentanyl Act, which made permanent the classification of fentanyl-related substances as schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act.
Schedule I drugs have high potential for abuse and generally lack a safe medical use. Still, marijuana remains a schedule I drug despite approved medical use in most U.S. states. Others – like ecstasy – have been approved for medical research.
In the case of nitazenes, causing death is another major contributing factor to their classification. In Pennsylvania, 45 deaths have been attributed to them since 2023. In 2023, of the 4,719 overdose deaths in the state, 77% were attributed to fentanyl.
A recent study revealed that one of the challenges to the current epidemic is the potency of fentanyl and fentanyl-related drugs. It suggests that the availability has likely led to higher intensity drug use.
Drug users who have overdosed on opioids, synthetic or otherwise, can often be revived using Naloxone, which is available to anyone for free in Pennsylvania. Public health workers recommend individuals, businesses, and other organizations carry the drug to assist in an emergency.
