A new lethal synthetic opioid, more potent than fentanyl, has been discovered in Florida. State officials have issued a warning that “just one pill can kill.”
It’s known as isotonitazene, or ISO for short. It’s being mixed with other drugs and making an appearance on the black market, possibly in powder or pill form. Users frequently have no idea that a lethal synthetic opioid has been mixed into their drug until it is too late.
Ashley Moody, the Attorney General of Florida, has issued a warning.
“For years, we have been warning about the dangers of fentanyl and how just one pill laced with this synthetic opioid can kill. Now, there is a new, deadlier drug being found in Florida.
Isotonitazene, also known as ISO, is so strong that it can kill just by coming in contact with someone’s skin or being accidentally inhaled. ISO has already been linked to overdose deaths in Florida, so please, never take any illicit drug and know that using just one time could cost you your life.”
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, ISO entered the national illicit drug market in April 2019 and is responsible for multiple deaths.
ISO, like fentanyl, can be mixed with other narcotics including cocaine, methamphetamine, and even fake tablets. According to a 2021 American Society of Addiction Medicine study, at least 40 death overdoses containing ISO occurred in Cook County, Illinois, and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin during a six-month period in 2020.
ISO was discovered in numerous Florida counties by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Lab since 2020, and law enforcement attributed this lethal synthetic opioid to two deaths in Pasco County, just north of Tampa, in 2021.
