Nitazenes now detected in 12 European monitoring systems

EMCDDA early-warning reports show the nitazene family (etonitazene, metonitazene, isotodesnitazene) spreading from the Baltics across Western Europe, mostly hidden in counterfeit oxycodone and 'heroin'.

Nitazenes were developed by CIBA in the 1950s and abandoned as medicines — they are 10–25x fentanyl's potency and have no approved human use.

Drug-checking services in several EU cities report nitazenes in pills sold as oxycodone 80 mg. Naloxone reverses them, but multiple doses are often needed.

See our full nitazene explainer and the etonitazene / isotodesnitazene profiles.