One person has been confirmed dead in Boulder due to an overdose involving a new drug that officials say is even more deadly than fentanyl.
The novel synthetic opioid called N-Desethyl etonitazene was detected this year by the Boulder County Coroner’s Office — making it the first time law enforcement has found proof of the drug’s presence in the United States.
The drug, which is a type of opioid called a nitazene, is considered to be 10 times more powerful than fentanyl. According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, nitazenes were originally developed by researchers 60 years ago as an alternative of morphine.
Today the opioids, which have become increasingly lethal, are being primarily sourced from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“There’s so many different constructional components to different nitazenes out there,” Cmdr. Nicholas Goldberger of the Boulder County Drug Task Force said. “We’re actively looking at two cases which reference nitazenes and of course our primary look appears to be that the substances are coming from the dark web for these or at least one of the cases.”
According to Goldberger, the N-Desethyl etonitazene overdose occurred in Boulder mid-2023.
Sgt. Patrick Compton of the Boulder County Drug Task Force said in this case, a man is believed to have ordered quaaludes — a hypnotic sedative sometimes used as a recreational drug — on the dark web without knowing they were tainted with nitazenes.
That case is one of two on-going death investigations by the Boulder County Drug Task Force into nitazene presence in Boulder County.
In the latter case, the toxicology report showed protonitazene, according to Goldberger. Unlike N-Desethyl etonitazene, protonitazene has been detected in the U.S. previously. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice notified the public of the presence of protonitazenes, a type of nitazene considered three times more potent than fentanyl.
Goldberger said people will illegally buy nitazenes online and have them delivered to their door or any other specific location with the intent to consume themselves or deal them to others. As a result, Goldberger said the distribution of nitazenes is more “surgical” than the distribution of fentanyl, which Goldberger compared to a “spider web of hubs going throughout the United States.”
Goldberger said that the task force partners with local prevention and treatment programs to stay aware of what drugs are present in the area as well as using national databases to track new and emerging drugs. However, Compton and Goldberger say it’s hard for law enforcement to keep up.
“There are plenty of people who are using drugs, pick a drug it doesn’t matter, if they live through it, law enforcement doesn’t know anything about it,” Goldberger said. “Maybe that one drug, again, pick any drug, has been in the area for months or weeks or days but we won’t know about it because it’s an incident where law enforcement or medical has not been called in to assist or they don’t have an investigation for that chemical, for that drug.”
Compton said nitazene presence in Boulder County is something law enforcement is likely going to be seeing a little more of.
“This is all very new in the states,” Compton said referring to the new drug. “I do think that there’s a lot that, that forensic pathologists, doctors, that medical center, there’s so much to learn still, I think everyone’s just behind the curve on this and maybe at some point something will come to light on that.”
Compton said he’s not aware of anyone at the Boulder Police Department who has physically collected nitazenes, therefore limiting his knowledge of their color and shape.
According to a small study by Alexandra Amaducci et al. that was published Aug. 29, those experiencing overdoses from nitazenes compared to those overdosing from fentanyl may require more doses of naloxone to survive.
“It is a synthetic type opioid so naloxone should have some type of effect on it but again I can’t speak to the strength of the different nitazenes,” Goldberger said.
Compton said anyone administering naloxone is encouraged to use more than one dose if they have them available and the first dose does not work effectively. However, Compton said those administering the medication should wait two to three minutes between each dose.
However, Goldberger said there’s no guarantee that naloxone will save someone’s life.
“Naloxone is not a magic pill or magic drug, there’s no guarantee,” Goldberger said. “If you get to the person soon enough hopefully the naloxone will help reverse it, but there’s no guarantee. You can give them however many doses are needed and the person can still die. It’s dependent on time and a few other factors.”