TAG / DRUG OVERDOSE

Since their broader appearance on Europe’s illicit drug scene six years ago, nitazenes have been detected across nearly every continent, but they remain under-researched and rarely discussed. 

Xylazine is a super-powerful horse tranquilizer that’s cheaper than fentanyl, and often mixed with the drug. It’s a deadly combination. 

Everywhere all the time, DeLeon’s quest encompasses everything from vaping to the collateral damage of alcohol abuse. “We’re three years deep into a catastrophe,” he says.

A study by the Alcohol Research Group shows 160 million collateral damage victims of substance abuse, including traffic accidents, vandalism, physical harm, financial issues and family or marriage problems.

Xylazine, a veterinary sedative, is easily bought on the internet from overseas, but makes fentanyl even more deadly. The law is struggling to catch up.

While estimates suggest up to 20,000 lives are being saved, overdoses still claim some 100,000 lives a year, mostly from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

As addiction rates soar, Scottish politicians pursue a path of making hardcore drug use easy—and they aren’t the only ones. “Drug consumption rooms” across Europe defy common sense and ignore real solutions to the scourge of abuse.