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A strong synthetic opioid three times more potent than fentanyl has been identified in New Zealand.

Protonitazene,��part of the��nitazene��family,��has been linked to one death and��multiple��overdoses in Australia, prompting warnings from health authorities.����

Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia’s acting state director, Dr. Victoria Cock, told local media there is a major concern it is being mixed with other illicit drugs, particularly methamphetamine, and people are being accidentally exposed to it.��

The New Zealand Drug Foundation has confirmed��that��protonitazene��was��identified��here in February but has not been found mixed with other drugs.����

That would be the��“absolute��worst-case��scenario”,��executive director Sarah Helm said.����

In New Zealand, the small presence of��nitazenes��is��mostly being used by people experienced in using��opioids, she said.����

“[That] doesn’t mean that [nitazenes] are not dangerous but nonetheless [those people] are more likely to be able to navigate it and have the things on hand they need.”��

Helm is concerned about the possibility of��it��adulterating another drug, like what has happened in Australia.����

“If we had an adulteration of methamphetamine here, for example, people wouldn’t realise that they’re taking a drug that’s very, very potent and can result in an overdose fatality so they might be likely to consume a lot of it and that can result in death quite quickly.”��

A recent report from the New Zealand Drug Foundation has called for urgent action on measures to prevent overdoses.����

The report's recommendations include overdose prevention��centres��and��the��distribution of naloxone, which reverses opioid overdose, and other overdose reversal drugs.����

“[Naloxone] is a bit of a miracle drug and in other countries,��it's��been made very readily available, including in Australia. Here,��it’s��very,��very��hard to get.”��

“We desperately need that in the hands of people who are going to need it because an overdose fatality from a drug like [protonitazene] happens incredibly quickly,” Helm said.��

Shannon Johnstone is a journalist at����һ�ǿ�����talk ZB��based in Auckland��covering education and general news. She joined����һ�ǿ�����talk ZB��in 2021 and previously worked at��Hawke's Bay Today.������