A drugs charity based in Belfast has called for better official monitoring and testing of drugs as the presence of life-threatening synthetic opioids on Northern Ireland’s streets continues to rise.
It comes as local community workers raise concerns over rising levels of overdoses in NI and highlighted the need to reform how the healthcare system supports drug users.
Last week, the Belfast Telegraph reported an 18% rise in the use of overdose reversal drug Naloxone by paramedics over the past two years.
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Nitazenes are strong synthetic opioids, originally developed by researchers around 60 years ago as an alternative to morphine but never released due to their high potential for overdose.
In March, the Government banned 14 variants of Nitazenes, deeming them Class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Belfast councillor Paul McCusker, who founded The People’s Kitchen charity in Belfast, said the increasing presence of Nitazenes in NI is “concerning”.
“We know Nitazenes are very strong and when mixed with other drugs can be fatal,” he said.
“We know [they are] here. The problem is we are talking about polydrug use.
“People aren’t using one drug, they are using a mixture. And then mixed with something quite potent like Nitazenes, it increases their risk of overdose or death.
“That’s the worry we experience daily — that people who do take drugs are taking those risks, and people are waiting to access services.
“In recent weeks, we’ve had to get four or five different people [off] to rehab. But it hasn’t been in NI, it’s been Dublin, or they’ve had to go across the water.
“People are desperate, they are in crisis, and while drugs like Nitazenes and other potent stuff that’s on the streets are there, it increases the risk for so many people caught in addiction.
“We need to keep this a focus, because people are losing their lives.”
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Michael McDowell, from user activist group Belfast Experts By Experience (BEBE), said that the drugs are entering NI from the Asian market as benzodiazepines, also known as “benzos” or “blues”.
“People who are buying those here do not know what’s in them. They never do and never have,” Mr McDowell said.
“Even for someone who is not opioid-naive, someone who is a heroin user, for instance, they are lethal. They can cause you to overdose very quickly.
“You’ve got diamorphine or heroin. Then above that you have fentanyl. And even stronger than those are Nitazenes.
“They are extremely potent and extremely dangerous, especially because people don’t know they are taking them.”
Mr McDowell said outreach services had done a good job in raising awareness of the drugs’ dangers among those who are using them, but he called for more to be done.
“We have really put the word out there to be wary that when you are buying something that looks a bit different to take less to see if it is stronger,” he said.
“That’s very hard to do for a lot of people, so we have got testing strips for Nitazenes. So if someone finds something, we can do that for them.
“The charities are doing their best with what they have. Services in NI are a bit touch and go.
“The people that work within them are brilliant. They are passionate, caring and do their best within the confines of the charity and the funds that they have.
“Within the trusts, there are moves being made to try to get testing brought in here.
“If that comes in, it’ll be a real lifesaver in future. Because this isn’t going to go away. We are going to see a massive increase in synthetic opioids over the next two to three years.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health (DoH) said it was aware of concerns around Nitazenes.
“The department is collaborating with partners within Northern Ireland, and across the UK and Ireland, to monitor the developments around synthetic opioids entering the drugs supply and provide advice, information and harm reduction to those at risk,” the spokesperson said.
“This includes ongoing work to share information with key stakeholders in relation to synthetic opioids through the NI Drug and Alcohol Monitoring and Information System (DAMIS), which is coordinated by the Public Health Agency (PHA).”
A PHA spokesperson said: “Nitazene testing strips are being piloted as part of the PHA’s Needle and Syringe Exchange Scheme, to provide warnings and further information and intelligence to those who use drugs and the wider community.
“Anyone who uses drugs should bear in mind that products that look the same as each other may not be the same in terms of their contents.
“A pill or powder that looks like one taken previously may in fact have entirely different substances in it.
“To find services near you, please visit www.drugsandalcoholni.info.”