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Opioid Crisis Escalates In Florida After Police Discover Drug 50 Times Stronger Than Fentanyl

U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo of packets of fentanyl mostly in powder form and methamphetamine which U.S. Customs and Border Protection say they seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico

Image not from story (U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Handout via REUTERS)

Mariane Angela Entertainment And News Reporter
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Florida authorities discovered a drug 50 times stronger than fentanyl being distributed in Florida, Newsweek reported.

Palm Beach County police uncovered a synthetic opioid, N-Desethyl Isotonitazene (ISO), that is up to 50 times more potent than fentanyl, according to Newsweek. The discovery was made during a raid by the West Palm Beach Police’s Organized Crime Unit, which led to the seizure of 20 kilograms of ISO, valued at approximately $1.6 million, according to Mike Jachles, the department’s public information officer.

“Basically, we took a lot of poison off the streets,” Jachles told Newsweek. “And this is serious, this is scary. It is a public health issue.”

This potent substance has been identified in only one other U.S. city — Philadelphia — where health officials first detected it in Dec. 2022, the outlet reported. The Palm Beach operation also resulted in the arrest of an individual involved in distributing the drug, mimicking safer narcotics like OxyContin and Percocet, which can deceive users about its lethal potency. (RELATED: Feds Spent Over $300 Million On Failed Study To Stop Opioid Deaths)

“Jae” (L) and her boyfriend prepare to use fentanyl following the decriminalization of all drugs in downtown Portland, Oregon on January 23, 2024. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

The ongoing crisis of opioid overdoses in the U.S., primarily driven by synthetic opioids like fentanyl, continues to claim lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that of the 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023, about 70% were due to synthetic opioids.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned in 2022 that ISO, which may appear as yellow, brown or off-white powder, is often mixed into other drugs, enhancing their potency and reducing production costs. This adulteration can lead to unsuspecting victims overdosing, a factor compounded by the drug’s high potency and the inability to properly identify these synthetics without lab testing.