A powerful synthetic opioid, nitazenes, is the main reason why the number of drug overdoses in Estonia has tripled in recent years, writes the Estonian media outlet ERR News.
Statistics show that nitazenes is used much more in the Baltic states than elsewhere in Europe. Like fentanyl, nitazenes causes a rapid and very strong intoxication, however, there is a very important difference – the bodies of people who overdose on nitazenes react very poorly to the medications that are used to save lives in such situations.
Between 2021 and 2024, 332 people died from drug overdoses in Estonia. Prosecutor Raigo Aas pointed out that such a rapid increase in deaths is a direct effect of the new synthetic drug.
Data from the National Institute for Health Development (TAI) shows that from 2018 to 2021, an average of 30 to 40 people died from overdoses in Estonia per year. In 2022, there were already 80 deaths. In the last few years, the number of deaths has been around a hundred per year. In 2024, 100 people died from overdoses, 42 of whom had used nitazenes.
The youngest person who overdosed on nitazenes in 2024 was just two years old, the oldest was 55 years old.
The average age of a drug victim in Estonia is 38 years old.
Estonia stands out in Europe in terms of both the volume of nitazenes use and the severe consequences. Aas noted that the biggest problem is in Estonia and Latvia, and the Estonian situation is likely to be more severe.
Isotonitazene, also known as nitazenes, is a powerful synthetic substance that was first detected in Estonia three years ago. Aas said that if someone overdoses on fentanyl, naloxone is used to revive them. It is used by emergency services and the police, and it is widely available in Estonia. But in the case of nitazenes the effect is not so good.”
Nitazenes is mostly sold in small doses. One dose costs about 25 euros. Aas explained that it is a very small amount, milligrams, and one gram of the substance can contain several dozen doses. A gram of nitazene costs between 150 and 300 euros, but since it contains up to 30 doses, the synthetic drug is a tempting form of illegal profit. A dealer will make around 750 euros from selling 30 doses, which means that the profit could be around 600 euros per gram.
Although the amount of nitazenes may seem small, it is so potent that even the slightest deviation in the dose can cause overdose and death.
A few hundred grams or one or two kilograms is an extremely large amount, said Aas.
Nitazenes enters Estonia through smuggling from Latvia, mostly in powder form, but sometimes as a concentrate that needs to be diluted. The main places of origin are China or India. Aas said that it is safe to say that 99% of the potent drug comes from Latvia. Since nitazenes is imported in quantities of a few hundred grams or a kilogram, it is easy to hide it in clothes or a bag and transport it across the open Schengen border, usually by car, but sometimes also by bus. Sometimes the Estonian Customs Board manages to intercept large quantities of synthetic opioids during border checks on cars.
Once in Estonia, smugglers hide the drugs in a hiding place, which can also be in the forest, where they are later collected by an Estonian dealer. The largest criminal case related to nitazene to date was heard last year, when the Harju County Court tried Latvian citizens Atvars Kozlovskis and Arturs Jegorovs for importing 2.8 kilograms of the synthetic drug into Estonia. Theoretically, this amount is enough to intoxicate five million people.
Nitazane is most common in the Baltic States. Aas pointed out that there is no explanation for this, and such widespread use of this substance has not been observed elsewhere in Europe.
Read also: EU ministers searches for forever chemicals in their blood