CBS NEWS: by Kerry Breen
A Colorado overdose death has been linked to a new formulation of a new class of powerful analgesics being increasingly seen in the illicit drug market.
They have been around for decades, experts told CBS News, and have been seen in multiple formulations.
The coroner told CBS News that while Denver has seen a decrease in synthetic drug overdoses, use of new deadly strains has emerged — which “raises new concerns.”
What are they?
These strains were first developed in the 1950s and early 1960s, said Claire Zagorski, a chemist, paramedic and translational scientist in Austin, Texas. At the time, they weren’t illicit drugs, but were intended to be sold commercially. That never happened, Zagorski said, and in recent years, those original formulations have been used as a backbone by illicit drug manufacturers to make new synthetic drugs amid a crackdown on substances.