Mexican authorities warned of the spread of a powerful drug that could worsen the US overdose epidemic.
A public health agency said that nitazenes — a group of synthetic opioids thought to be up to 40 times more powerful than fentanyl — could be laced into drugs, with even trace amounts deadly.
More than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in the US in 2023, with nearly 70% of the deaths attributed to opioids such as fentanyl.
Authorities both in the US and Mexico have struggled to halt production of fentanyl, with just 30kg (66lbs) needed to produce as many as 15 million lethal doses. Because of their potency, cracking down on nitazenes could be even more complex.
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