Dozens of Prescription Drug Pill Bottles – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by David Smart

Florida is leading the country in overdose deaths with a dangerous synthetic drug that is new on the market. The substance is called eutylone.

Eutylone is a specific psychoactive bath salt. Just in 2021, it was listed as the seventh most identified drug in more than 8,000 cases.

It has been learned that 77 percent of deaths involving the toxic substance have traces of fentanyl, which has been linked to a large spike in overdoses across the U.S. and in the Jacksonville area.

According to new data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida’s eutylone-related overdoses make up over 53 percent of the nation’s total.

According to the CDC, the drug caused 182 fatalities in Florida between January and June of 2021, with 77 percent of those deaths including illicitly produced fentanyl, cocaine, or meth.

Authorities claimed to have found it during narcotics seizures, arrests, or undercover purchases.

Several recovery centers and agencies are working diligently to spread awareness about the drug in an effort to control the spread.

John Templeton Jr., the president of Footprint Beachside Recovery based in the Tampa Bay area, told News4Jax that unless you confirm where these substances are coming from, you are gambling your own life.

He added that the impact of the drug is “really alarming.”

Eutylone was reportedly identified in fewer than 10 drug products, such as powders, capsules, or pills, from January to June of 2017. However, it was the sixth most often recognized substance between January and June 2021 with more than 8,000 drug items containing it.

The CDC claims that the effects of eutylone are comparable to those of cocaine, meth, and ecstasy.

There is a need to keep an eye out for fresh breakouts of more synthetic pharmaceuticals because now, more drugs contain euthylone, increasing eutylone-related mortality.

“It’s no surprise drug traffickers have been mixing synthetic drugs, to increase the potency, to increase profit and putting profit over lives,” Templeton said. “We do have to alarm the public. Let them know how truly deadly this is that if you show a graph of opioid deaths from three years ago or 10 years ago, it’s the trajectory is like nothing we’ve ever seen.”

The CDC stated one way to guide prevention efforts is to deeply understand if eutolyne exposure is done with intention or unintentionally. Additionally, it recommended that extra efforts be made to educate the public, particularly those who combine eutylone with other drugs, encourage the testing of illegal narcotics, and expand harm reduction techniques.

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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.

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