'Inevitable' that synthetic heroin will flood Ireland, expert warns
It Made An Synthetic Be Into A Manufacturing 'can Smuggling Heroin In Opioids Faraway Anywhere', And Expert Country Warned Unlike Europe,
A significant increase in dangerous synthetic versions of heroin being supplied by organised crime groups into Ireland and the rest of Europe is a “grim inevitability”, a drug expert in Britain has said.
Steve Rolles of Transform Drug Policy Foundation said the “cat is out of the bag” concerning the supply of synthetic opioids such as nitazene, and warned that the UK is already “looking down the barrel of an imminent public health emergency”.
He was speaking at a webinar bringing together health officials, drug experts, and frontline services in Britain, Ireland, and the North on the issue of nitazenes.
The HSE's Nicki Killeen said it is working with coroners on “possible deaths” among the 20 nitazene overdoses in Cork in early December, but did not yet have that data.
She told the event, organised by Northern Ireland drug charity Ascert, that all of the 57 nitazene overdoses in Dublin in November were non-fatal.
The has been previously told by expert sources that they suspect at least one person in Cork died after taking nitazene.
Daniel McParland of Simon Community Northern Ireland said the rapid response in Ireland has “saved lives” and said the system in the North is “in the dark ages” with a lack of rapid testing and an absence of emergency harm reduction messaging.
Mr Rolles said the full impact of a 95% collapse last year in opium production in Afghanistan, the primary supplier of heroin to Europe, is difficult to know for sure.
However, he said there is a “grim inevitability” that synthetic opioids will penetrate the European heroin market, saying the “cat is out of the bag” in terms of the interest of organised crime groups.
He said that, unlike growing opium and manufacturing heroin in a faraway country and smuggling it into Europe, synthetic opioids “can be made anywhere” and that a "matchbox" of nitazene is the equivalent of 50kg of heroin.
Ms Killeen, HSE project manager of emerging drug trends, said “rapid escalation” in the health response is crucial.
She said nitazene in Ireland has so far come in powder form and has not been mixed with other drugs, but they are unsure what directions the market will take.
She said preparation is key and that it is also important not to create stigma of users as they need users to report changes in the market.
Ms Killeen said there are other areas of concern and there is a “significant user group at risk” from synthetic cannabinoids, sold in vapes and edibles.
Tim McQuade of Depaul Northern Ireland said it is seeing a dramatic increase in young people vaping substances, including suspected ‘spice’ (synthetic cannabinoid), and children have been hospitalised there.