The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office is joining local law enforcement agencies in warning residents about a new emerging drug.
The drug, commonly called “Pyro,” (N-Pyrrolidine Etonitazene) is a high-potency synthetic opioid.
Pyro is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,500 times more powerful than morphine. In comparison, fentanyl is estimated to be approximately 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Jellison
“Pyro is being mixed into and marketed as other drugs to make drugs more potent and cheaper to produce,” Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison said. “The drug is causing deadly overdoses in unsuspecting victims.”
Jellison continued, “Pyro has already been seen in Hamilton County. It’s pressed into counterfeit pills and falsely marketed as pharmaceutical medication such as oxycodone. The pills are identical in color and marking to legitimate medications. Victims have no idea they are ingesting this poisonous and extremely potent drug until it’s too late.”
Counterfeit pills are typically purchased on the internet from unlicensed pharmacies.
“The black market poses a severe threat to unsuspecting individuals that purchase falsified look-alike medications,” Jellison said.
Like other opioid overdoses, a Pyro overdose causes respiratory depression.
“Thankfully, Pyro is responsive to naloxone, which is used by first responders to treat narcotic overdoses in emergency cases,” Jellison said.
Jellison urges the community to only take medications prescribed by your doctor and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.
Is there a way to differentiate the real from the fake pills