Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of the Forensic Services Director’s Report.
Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensic Services Committee - 6 August
Date : 06 August 2024
Location : Online
Nitazenes briefing
Forensic Services have provided the committee chair with a briefing on Nitazenes and their impact on Forensic Services. Nitazenes is a term used to describe a group of drugs first reported to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in 2019. They are synthetic opioids (benzimidazoles) and in general are of concern due to their potency.
Nitazenes have been detected across Scotland in a variety of drug preparations and in fatalities. Their prevalence is currently low, and their significance in fatalities is unclear and there has been no significant impact on demand for Forensic Services to date. Forensic Services support the work Public Health Scotland through the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) who published an alert about Nitazene-type drugs in January 2023.
