Toxicity of heroin laced with synthetic opioid β-U10 and etizolam

Abstract

Illicit heroin can be substituted or adulterated with New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) including highly potent fentanyl-type substances or other opioid-like compounds to counteract low-purity supply. The addition of unknown NPS to the heroin supply poses an additional risk of overdose and death. In 2020, the Emerging Drug Network of Australia VIC (EDNAV) study was funded to monitor drug related harm in individuals attending emergency departments (ED) at major hospitals within Victoria. In September 2020, a previously unreported NPS, β-U10 (2-napthyl-U-47700), was detected in discarded drug paraphernalia samples collected during a pilot study of an early warning system for illicit drug use i..