Dangerous substances entering Denver drug supply

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More dangerous substances are entering the Denver drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned in a newsletter this week.

“The Iron Law of Prohibition posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville wrote in the newsletter. That is exactly what is happening, she said.

Para-Fluorofentanyl killing users

“Besides xylazine and nitazenes, a new substance on the radar of the Denver Office of Medical Examiner is the uptick of para-Fluorofentanyl,” Raville wrote in the newsletter. “In Denver, they have seen 36 cases where this drug contributed to deaths since 2021. Sixteen of these occurred in 2023 and eight have occurred so far in 2024."

Raville reported that para-Fluorofentanyl “Is made with the same synthetic route as fentanyl but by substituting para-fluoroaniline for aniline in the synthesis…. It is a fentanyl analogue, so naloxone works.”

Naloxone is an antidote for when people are overdosing on opioids. A squirt into a nostril will bring someone back from the brink of death almost instantly, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It only works on opioids, not other drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine.

Medetomidine an emerging threat

According to the newsletter, “Another emerging substance to keep an eye on: Medetomidine detected in substances in the Philadelphia area, most recently. It is a tranquilizer similar to xylazine and found in substances alongside xylazine and fentanyl." The Everywhere Project offers information about the basics, effects, and how to respond to an overdose.

“People are dying from an unregulated drug supply and using alone,” Raville wrote in the newsletter. “While we continue to push forward with overdose prevention centers, we are working in parallel with folks being able to access a safe supply to regulated drugs. Safe supply is what we expect in a society. Whether it be the water we drink, the food we eat, or the air we breathe. That expectation does not disappear because someone engages in a behavior others find distasteful. Your life has value whether you drink beer or shoot heroin.”