Labour can stop more vulnerable people dying from drugs like nitazenes – if it wants. Here's how

The UK remains the drug death capital of the world, with over 6,600 people recorded losing their lives in 2023. Drug deaths have risen each year for a decade, and these new figures include only part of the shocking spike in deaths from synthetic opioids like nitazenes. We fear that without action, the UK might be sleepwalking into a crisis. 

Nitazenes, a family of drugs said to be around 50-300 times stronger than ordinary street heroin, are increasingly appearing in the tragic toxicology reports of those who lost their lives to drugs. If North America’s experience is anything to go by, where fentanyl killed 70,000 people in the US in 2022 alone, then the need for pragmatic action is immediate. 

We work in the West Midlands, providing drug services in Sandwell and in police cells in neighbouring Birmingham, which saw a tragic spike of 21 fatalities linked to the drugs last summer – as Big Issue has reported on. 

Read more of the Big Issue’s investigation into the human toll of the UK’s synthetic opioid crisis:

• The inside story of nitazenes and the drug deaths crisis rocking Britain: ‘No one is talking about it’
• Nitazenes: Use of life-saving overdose drug surges by 50% amid synthetic opioid crisis
• MPs on all sides call for action on nitazenes after Big Issue exposes Britain’s drug deaths crisis

There is a daily fear among providers like Cranstoun that we will see another surge in deaths linked to their contamination in the local drugs supply. Now is the time for the new UK government to outline how it will address this alarming situation.

The government can make practical changes that do not require much financial investment, but which will save lives. Our recommendations range from the need for better data sharing and early warning signs, to enhanced overdose prevention centres and drug checking facilities.  

It is not just opioids which seem to be falling victim to potent, synthetic contamination but other drugs, used by larger cohorts of society, too. 

Since our report, published last August, there has been a worrying proliferation of recorded contaminations – evidenced by Welsh government funded services WEDINOS – creeping into other drugs including benzodiazepines, cocaine and cannabis.  

At a time where drug deaths are already sky-high, this is further cause for alarm. 

The situation is particularly worrying given that the much-needed uplift in funding for drug treatment services, following the Dame Carol Black review, is coming to an end next year. There is no indication of what lies ahead which is causing uncertainty across the sector. Treatment providers are working tirelessly to stay ahead of the curve, but there is a fear that reduced funding will hit the sector at the worst possible time.  

The new government has an opportunity to adopt an evidence-based approach to mitigating the harms of a synthetic opioid crisis, which will save lives – they cannot afford to be led by ideology and media friendly sound bites. 

A recent debate in parliament around the distribution of naloxone, an anti-overdose medication for opioids, gives encouraging signs that politicians across the House finally understand the need for proactive measures. 

We hope that debate, where support was unanimous, will extend beyond naloxone and into other evidence-based solutions which will help to stop the preventable loss of life. The new government must show strong leadership by acknowledging the issue it has inherited, and map out how it aims to tackle the growing problem. 

Lessons must be learned from the fentanyl crisis in North America. Given the dire situation in the US, and the early warning signs on our shores, we are calling on the government to work with providers to ensure we are best equipped to deal with the worst-case scenario before it is too late. 

After ten consecutive years of increasing drug deaths, the new government must be bold and show a clear break from the past.  

The eight-point plan we launched calls for: drug checking, overdose prevention centres and better monitoring and data sharing. It also calls for wider roll out of naloxone, changes to supported housing for people who use drugs and use of innovations that ensure no one is taking drugs alone. We have also been calling for increased and expanded use of opioid substitution therapy, to include diamorphine (heroin) assisted treatment. Rooted in international evidence, implementing these changes will save lives, but time is quickly running out.

Luke O’Neil is interim director of services at Cranstoun.

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