DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – A powerful synthetic opioid has been found throughout Miami Valley communities. Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost is warning residents of the drug, especially here in the southwestern region where large amounts have been found.
Yost said they’re seeing a major increase in the amount of Nitazenes, otherwise known as “Frankenstein Opioids,” a dangerous synthetic opioid proven to be more than 40-times more lethal than fentanyl.
“The problem with these Frankenstein opioids is that they can be much more dangerous than the drugs we already see on the street like fentanyl,” said Yost.
Nitazines are not approved for medical use anywhere in the world but are currently being made in secret labs. The drug has been found in combination with other drugs, primarily fentanyl.
“Several police officers who just touched a little fentanyl immediately fell out, overdosed and were rushed to the hospital,” said Yost. “I’m worried about that not only happening to law enforcement but also members of the public.”
Yost’s office has found Frankenstein opioids all across the state, but Montgomery County is a hot spot for them.
“It’s getting more and more dangerous out there, the opioid overdoses and deaths are as high as they’ve ever been in Ohio and across the country,” said Yost.
