![pills spilling out of bottle](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2024/07/n21262886/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1720781829827.jpg)
‘Even worse than fentanyl’: Dangerous new drug takes lives in Cincinnati and beyond
UC nursing associate professor speaks with Local 12 and The Cincinnati Enquirer about nitazenes
Tasha Turner-Bicknell wants residents in Greater Cincinnati to know that the illicit drug market is an increasingly dangerous threat to public health.
“Nitazenes are what we are seeing on the increase now, but over the last few years we have seen a number of dangerous adulterants in the illicit drug supply,” explains Turner-Bicknell, associate professor in the UC College of Nursing. “It’s important that the public is aware of what’s out there. Information from drug seizures can be an important tool in protecting public health.”
Nitazenes are strong synthetic opioids that were developed by researchers about 60 years ago as an alternative to morphine, but never released to the public because of their high potential for overdose. But this drug has increasingly found its way into the Tri-State and has some researchers calling it worse than fentanyl.
Turner-Bicknell spoke with Local 12 and The Cincinnati Enquirer for stories about the increasing dangers of nitazenes. She is a harm reductionist, population health nurse, and member of the board of directors for Harm Reduction Ohio. Turner-Bicknell is also director of advanced public health nursing DNP and certificate programs at UC.
Tasha Turner-Bicknell, associate professor of nursing at UC.
Local 12 News reported that five different types of nitazenes have been detected with two types as potent as fentanyl and others thousands of times stronger.
Hamilton County Public Health reported a 860% increase in nitazene presence in seized drug equipment. Commissioner Greg Kesterman warns that although most of the deaths have been from injectable nitazene, the drug comes in many forms.
"Sometimes when we bring a lot of press and policy attention to a certain individual drug adulterant, it might become less available,” Turner-Bicknell told Local 12 News. “So, people are looking for other means.”
Turner-Bicknell said that telling people not to do drugs isn't the only message, because the reality is that some people will still do them. She told Local 12 that educating people about doing a test dose, using a small amount, never using drugs alone and having Narcan available is important as well.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that nitazenes arrive on the heels of xylazine, another dangerous drug contaminating Hamilton County's drug supply during the opioid epidemic. Originally intended to be an animal tranquilizer, xylazine extends the euphoria for drug users but can also create skin damage so severe that amputation is necessary.
Turner-Bicknell told The Cincinnati Enquirer that both nitazenes and xylazine are the products of policy that criminalizes illicit drug use and a market that responds by churning out increasingly dangerous drugs.
"That kind of Prohibition-type of drug war, really, is like pouring gasoline on the illicit drug market," Turner-Bicknell told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "That market is always looking for something that is cheaper, faster and more potent."
Review stories featuring Tasha Turner-Bicknell online with Local 12 and The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Learn more about Tasha Turner-Bicknell online.
Featured top image courtesy of Istock.
Related Stories
SELF: 6 things you should know about exercise and the COVID-19 vaccines
May 4, 2021
Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the UC College of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, was one of the sources cited in an article published by SELF on six things to know about exercise and COVID-19 vaccines.
WCPO: CURESZ educates, removes stigma surrounding schizophrenia
May 4, 2021
Bethany Yeiser is working to educate others about schizophrenia through the CURESZ Foundation, which she founded with UC's Henry Nasrallah, the doctor who got her on the path to recovery.
WVXU: UC researchers identify protein involved in fight or flight
April 26, 2021
Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, a professor in the UC Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease, discussed the research findings on fast skeletal myosin binding protein-C with WVXU’s Tana Weingarten.
The Hastings Center: Should we enroll our child in a COVID-19 vaccine trial?
May 5, 2021
Should we enroll our child in a COVID-19 vaccine trial? The topic is one that Elizabeth Lanphier, PhD, an assistant professor in the UC Department of Pediatrics, tackles in an opinion piece with The Hastings Center. Lanphier is also a clinical ethicist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report to be released
May 5, 2021
The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: “Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity” is being released on Tuesday, May 11. Greer Glazer, PhD, dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing is one of the 15 people who served on the committee composing the report. The report explores how nurses can work over the next decade to reduce health disparities and promote equity, while keeping costs at bay, utilizing technology and maintaining patient and family-focused care.
A new treatment for rare muscular disease
April 16, 2021
Hani Kushlaf, MD, presented findings on a new treatment for Pompe disease, a rare neuromuscular disease, virtually at the American Academy of Neurology on April 17.
Yahoo: Researchers find a new treatment for rare muscular disease
April 16, 2021
University of Cincinnati researchers have found a newer, more effective treatment for the disease Pompe that could become the new standard of care for the rare condition.
WVXU: Food allergy sufferers want clearer food labels and new research may help
April 19, 2021
Lynne Haber, PhD, a senior toxicologist in the UC College of Medicine, spoke with a journalist from Cincinnati’s public radio station, WVXU, about her research that has identified a possible ‘eliciting dose’ of peanut that may trigger an allergic reaction in individuals with peanut allergies.
Healthline: Carcinogen benzene reportedly in hand sanitizer
April 13, 2021
Mary Beth Genter, PhD, a professor in the UC College of Medicine, provided her expertise for a story with Healthline on choosing hand sanitizers. She advised against using brands of hand sanitizer that contain denatured alcohol.
Air pollution may affect severity and hospitalization in COVID-19 patients with respiratory disease
April 13, 2021
Angelico Mendy, MD, PhD, assistant professor of environmental and public health sciences, at the UC College of Medicine, looked at the health outcomes and backgrounds of 1,128 COVID-19 patients at UC Health.