'It's not going away': HSE warns of deadly drug being circulated in Cork city

THE HSE is escalating warnings around a deadly drug being touted as a heroin alternative amid fears of further overdoses in Cork city.

HSE coordinator of Drug and Alcohol Services in Cork and Kerry, David Lane, said he suspects that N-Pyrrolidino protonitazene, also known as Nitazene, is “here to stay” and may require updated warnings in the near future.

It follows reports of 17 overdoses in Cork over a 10-day period last December linked to the drug.

The synthetic opiate is being falsely described as a stronger version of heroin.

“This is not going to go away,” Mr Lane told The Echo.

Mr Lane said the drug is particularly attractive to dealers, as it’s cheap to manufacture.

Recent overdoses in Cork are being linked to its powder variant, even though the substance also comes in tablet form.

“I think we will have periods of time where we will issue additional alerts. We are preparing for this to be with us for a long time.

“Just like Covid, it won’t be going away any time soon. We still have the warning in place and for good reason. People are paying the same price for this as they would for heroin. However, it is all about making money. It’s cheaper to produce a substance like this in a laboratory than it is to produce heroin. The person selling the drug doesn’t care about how somebody will react to it or not.”

The HSE remain on high alert as Nitazene continues to circulate in Cork city. 

“There will be national guidance on this, in terms of what we are seeing on the ground, but we are preparing for the long haul. Our principle concern is that we keep people as safe as possible, regardless of whether they are using illegal substances.”

Some people are using the drug out of physical desperation. “It’s being described by people selling it on the streets as even stronger and ‘better heroin’. However, many people seeking out the drug aren’t necessarily chasing a better high. The quantities are very often consumed by people who are just trying to feel normal. They are trying to counteract with-drawal symptoms that can include sickness and severe cramps.”

Mr Lane is urging drug users to avoid unfamiliar dealers. 

“One of the messages we are trying to hammer home to people who regularly use this drug is to buy from someone they know and not to engage with someone they don’t.

“What we found, last December, is that the dealer was always unfamiliar to the purchaser. If people are planning to buy, they need to ensure it’s a regular contact.” The number of deaths attributable to Nitazene is yet to be determined.

“We were able to get it tested and receive confirmation by the national lab that this was a synthetic opiate. However, until such time as a coroner’s report is done, we can’t confirm whether something was attributable to Nitazene,” said Mr Lane. “This is because, quite often, in terms of people who are using drugs like these, they are using other drugs at the same time. They are drinking at the same time or there could be drug interactions.

“It could have been an overdose involving a number of drugs. It’s only when we get access to a coroner’s report that we get a sense of what the cause of death will be.”

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