MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens have called for urgent action after Big Issue’s investigation into the stark human toll of nitazenes, a powerful synthetic opioid claiming lives in the UK.
Politicians from across the spectrum said the time had come for the government to go further in fighting the crisis, urging greater access to treatment, education, and life-saving drugs – as well as a rethink on prohibition.
Found in contaminated heroin, valium, and more, nitazenes have been linked to 284 deaths in the UK. So far, Big Issue’s investigation has uncovered the story of 21 deaths in Birmingham – and found that, nationwide, paramedics’ use of a life-saving drug used to combat opioid overdoses has increased by 50%.
Read more of the Big Issue’s investigation into the human toll of the UK’s synthetic opioid crisis:
- The inside story of nitazenes and the drug deaths crisis rocking Britain: ‘No one is talking about it’
- Nitazenes: Use of life-saving overdose drug surges by 50% amid synthetic opioid crisis
“The horrifying increase in deaths from nitazene overdose is a preventable tragedy. We need both effective warning systems and safe spaces for drug users to go where they can take drugs while being observed by medical professionals,” Carla Denyer, leader of the Green Party, told Big Issue in the wake of our reporting.
“The advent of nitazenes, much like the advent of crack cocaine and skunk cannabis, is a product of the prohibition of drugs. Prohibiting drugs does’t remove the demand for them, it makes the suppliers seek more potent versions of those drugs, which are easier to smuggle. Nitazenes are the latest example of this.”