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Twelve people have been hospitalized and some are in serious condition as New Zealand police are investigating the discovery of powdered fentanyl sold as cocaine or methamphetamine.
Over the past 48 hours, people have been hospitalized in Wairarapa, in the southeastern corner of the North Island, and six out of twelve have been unconscious. This is the first time that fentanyl powder, a synthetic opioid, has been discovered in Japan.
High alertThe government’s drug alert service issued a June 25 notice stating that the case was “believed to be related to the consumption of white powder” and that the “preliminary study” was “fentanyl or fentanyl type”. It indicates the existence of a substance. The Institute for Environmental Sciences is conducting further analysis.
“Patients who were hospitalized showed the same symptoms as opioid overdose, and all responded well to naloxone, a drug that undoes opioid overdose,” the notice said.
High Alert urged people not to take “white powder at this time” and to use fentanyl test strips to see if the substance contains fentanyl.
One gram of pure powdered fentanyl is equivalent to 20,000 safe drug doses, says detective Blair MacDonald, manager of the National Drug Information Agency.
McDonald’s said Newshub This finding is a “grave concern” and refers to the harm caused by the American opioid crisis.
“For example, last year alone, overdose of fentanyl killed more than 60,000 people,” McDonald’s said. “We are very aware that we do not want to see this kind of harm happening here in our community here in New Zealand.”
Symptoms of ingestion of powdered fentanyl
Fentanyl, an opioid analgesic that is 50 times more potent than heroin, causes addiction faster than other medicines and is very easy to overdose.
Powdered substances are mistakenly sold as various substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine, or other recreational drugs.
When taken, the user may become unresponsive and unconscious. Reported symptoms include dyspnea and weak pulse.
“Based on the number of hospitalizations and the geographic extent of the incident, the substance is likely to be widely available in and perhaps beyond the Wairarapa region,” High Alert said.
In addition, the tissue makes the user’s face extremely pale or “clumsy to the touch”, makes the body supple, the fingernails or lips turn purple or blue, and the user vomits or rumbling. If I started, I suggested that I contact the authorities immediately.
Police officers are trying to find a source of powdered fentanyl and where it is spreading. “If it’s widespread, it’s an incredibly dangerous place for us,” McDonald said.
Most fentanyl was produced in China until 2019, when it was officially banned by the Chinese Communist Party administration under pressure from the West. Since then, precursors of this drug have continued to be manufactured in China and then sent worldwide to customers who assemble them into deadly drugs.
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Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter on business and global events in The Epoch Times.
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