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    Home » UN warns of rising synthetic drug overdose deaths
    Awareness

    UN warns of rising synthetic drug overdose deaths

    Synthetic opioids have been detected in the UK, US, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, and Canada, according to the latest World Drug Report by the UNODC.
    News DeskBy News DeskJune 26, 2024
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    UN warns of overdose deaths as Afghan opium falls
    Rep Image | Image Credit: Freepik | Cropped by BH

    Vienna, Austria: The annual World Drug Report, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has warned of an increase in synthetic drug overuse deaths worldwide.

    The Opium ban by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a major global narcotic supplier, had led heroin users to use alternate synthetic opioids.

    The cultivation of opium, from which heroin is made, fell by 95 percent in Afghanistan last year after the Taliban banned the production of narcotics in 2022. Even though opium production in Myanmar increased by 36 percent, its global production still dropped by 75 percent, according to the U.N. Report.

    opium cultivation
    Image Courtesy: UN News| Cropped by BH

    The UNODC remarked that, “The result of a prolonged shortage of Afghan opiates could have multiple consequences in Afghanistan and countries of transit and destination for Afghan opiates. The purity of heroin on the market is expected to decline.”

    Preliminary field observations indicates that there is a possible slight increase in Afghan opium cultivation this year but is unlikely to return to pre-ban levels.

    rep image
    Rep Image | Image credits : Freepik | Cropped by BH

    The World Drug Report on analysing the potential impact of reduced opium supply outlines that, “Demand for opiate treatment services, including for methadone, buprenorphine, and slow-release morphine treatment, may rise, but if these services are insufficient, heroin users may switch to other opioids.”

    “Such a switch may pose significant risks to health and lead to an increase in overdoses, especially if the alternative opioids include highly potent substances such as some fentanyl analogues or nitazenes that have already emerged in some European countries in recent years,” the report emphasised.

    Rep Image
    Rep Image| Image credit: Kevin Bidwell | Pexel| Cropped by BH

    UNODC research chief Angela Me draws attention to the overdose deaths from nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid more potent than fentanyl, in Ireland, Britain, Estonia, and Latvia.

    Users often unknowingly buy heroin mixed with cheaper and more potent nitazenes. The traces of the drug are then detected when tests are performed after the overdose death.

    MOST READ: Myanmar becomes world’s biggest opium producer: UN

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    Afghan opiates Global narcotic supplier Nitazenes Overdose deaths Synthetic Opioids UNODC World Drug Report
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    The news/article published above has been sourced, compiled, and corroborated by a member of the Britain Herald News Desk Team. If you have any queries or complaints about the published material, please get in touch with us at BritainHerald@Gmail.Com

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