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 of 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 on Saturday after notice has been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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