Max Denn, a forensic chemist, prepares nitazene powder samples (Image: Getty)
More than 400 people have died after taking super-strength opioids, shocking figures have revealed.
The Home Office admitted the death toll could rise further over the coming years amid fears crime gangs are trying to import more nitazenes.
Officials said at least 400 people have died since June 2023.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said she is “concerned about the growing presence of these drugs” and vowed to take action.
New legislation will come into force today (Wednesday) banning xylazine, as well as several other synthetic drug, that can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin.
Police chiefs are concerned about a rise in synthetic drugs on UK streets (Image: Getty)
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “Synthetic drugs cause devastation wherever they are found – to individuals, to families, to our town centres and our communities.
“I have been concerned about the growing presence of these drugs on UK streets and I don’t think enough has been done in recent years to get a grip on it.
“Stepping up efforts to tackle this threat will form a key part of this government’s approach to drugs, which we hope to set out later this year.
“As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer, we are dedicated to driving down drug misuse and harms through prevention and treatment while acting quickly to stop the criminals peddling these harmful substances.”
Xylazine, often known as ‘tranq’, is a high-strength veterinary sedative, which has increasingly been used in combination with opioids such as heroin. Its effects can leave users prone to non-healing skin lesions and more liable to overdose.
Police officers have been trained how to administer naloxone – a lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.
Officials are now scrambling to give police chiefs more of the drugs in a bid to save lives.
Xylazine will be controlled as a Class C substance, meaning its unlawful supply carries a maximum sentence of up to 14 years in prison, a fine or both and unlawful possession up to two years, a fine or both.
A generic definition of nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid, has also been introduced into law today, which will prevent drug gangs from trying to make adjustments to drug recipes to attempt to bypass UK drug law.
The new legislation, introduced by the Home Office, will ban 22 substances. Six will be made Class A drugs.
This means that anyone caught producing or supplying these could now face up to life in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. Anyone caught possessing a Class A drug can also face up to 7 years in prison, a fine or both.