HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Four out of every ten pills the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized in 2021 contained a deadly amount of fentanyl, but now agents say there's a new drug that's potentially more potent than fentanyl hitting the streets in Virginia.
It's called nitazene, a powder that can resemble nearly any pill.
“We can’t tell the difference at DEA whether it’s a legitimate drug or it's something such as nitazene or fentanyl, it’s as potent if not more potent than fentanyl,” Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget said.
According to the CDC in 2021, U.S. drug overdose deaths hit their highest level on record, nearly 108,000 people. Of those deaths, over 75% were linked to a synthetic opioid.
Lisa Reed's daughter Kaitlyn was part of that statistic. Kaitlyn died from fentanyl poisoning in 2021.
“It’s super scary for our kids, our brother, our sisters everybody," Reed said. "This has got to stop; when’s it going to stop?”
Reed said she's praying for the day when her daughter's killer, the person who sold her the pills, is held responsible.
“My bumper sticker says getting a fentanyl dealer off the street doesn’t save my child, but it could save yours," Reed said.
Forget said the DEA is working on pursuing homicide charges in drug-related death cases.
“If an individual distributes a small amount, a deadly amount, it only takes 2 milligrams of fentanyl and it leads to death, that equates to homicide, so there’s federal statutes that exist that we work with prosecutors so pursue these death resulting charges,” said Forget.
Between fentanyl and now nitazenes, Reed said she's hopeful the message will get out there- that one pill can kill.
“It’s a death sentence, it’s absolutely a death sentence,” Reed said.
To read more about nitazenes, click here.
