The HSE has warned of an ‘extreme risk’ in connection with synthetic opioid overdoses in several regions. 

A nitazene-type substance was found in yellow tablets being sold as benzodiazepine in Dublin, Galway and the midwest. 

According to the HSE, these counterfeit drugs have resulted in multiple overdoses in these regions. 

It warned it’s safer to not take drugs at all and to get more information about naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. 

It also advised against buying new types of drugs from new sources. 

Nitazene is a potent form of synthetic opioid first developed as an alternative to morphine in the 20th century. 

In recent years, they have entered the European drug market and have been found sold as other drugs such as counterfeit oxycodone tablets. 

Nitazenes could come in the form of pills or powders, with current overdoses linked to yellow tablets. 

In November 2023, nitazene was identified in heroin overdose clusters across Dublin. 

The HSE said at the time due to the rising opioid overdoses in the region, it is collaborating with hospital emergency departments, NGOs, An Garda Síochána and laboratories at the National Drug Treatment Centre and Forensic Science Ireland to monitor the situation closely.