FISHERS, Ind. — The Hamilton County Coroner's Office issued a warning to residents about a "new emerging drug" found in a recent death investigation.
Coroner Jeff Jellison said the drug, Nitazene, was discovered during a death investigation in Fishers. Nitazene "is reportedly 1,000 times more potent than morphine and 60 times more than fentanyl."
A group of compounds developed in the 1950s as a substitute for morphine, Nitazene, which was never approved by the FDA, "is being sold by black market internet pharmacies located in foreign countries," Jellison said, adding that it can come in pills, powders, nasal sprays and vape liquid.
"when you are taking a drug that could look like a pharmaceutical type pill, whether it's Adderall, a Xanax or an M 30, such as a Percocet, you just have to realize the only way you take that is if you went to a doctor and they determine it's a medical necessity and your body could handle it, and then you got it from a licensed and registered pharmacy, never from a drug dealer on the street," said DEA PIO Mike Gannon
"Nitazine is often falsely marketed as prescription medications such as Oxycodone and Adderall," the coroner said. "Many overdose victims have no idea they’re ingesting this very dangerous drug."
Jellison reminded residents that if you suspect someone is overdosing, call 911 immediately and administer Narcan.
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"What does the drug dealer want to do? They want to have the most powerful product so they can make the most amount of money, and they don't care if they had to add some of these very dangerous opioids," said Gannon. "So so it's very scary."
According to the DEA, nitazine is also known as "ISO."
It began appearing in the Midwest in 2019.
According to the DEA's website:
"In powder form, ISO can appear yellow, brown, or off-white in color. DEA regional forensic laboratories have seen this drug mixed into heroin and/or fentanyl (and marketed as common street drugs) with deadly consequences. However, in other parts of the country, ISO has already been seen pressed into counterfeit pills and falsely marketed as pharmaceutical medication (like Dilaudid "M-8" tablets and oxycodone "M30" tablets)."
"People have to keep in mind, with all the synthetic drugs out there, and the way they’re being mixed together, you never know what you’re actually buying," says DEA Intelligence Analyst Maura Gaffney.