Deadly new drugs entering Baton Rouge, coroner warns

quote:

---

A fatal drug overdose in Baton Rouge has prompted the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner to warn the public about the influx of deadly synthetic opioids and other psychoactive drugs that can be legally purchased on the Internet.

Dr. Beau Clark said a man who died on Sept. 28 was found to have ingested three drugs Clark had not previously seen in the parish: furanyl fentanyl, a high-potency fentanyl analog sold as a designer drug; Etizolam, which mimics the sedating effects of benzodiazepines like Xanax; and U-47700, an opioid analgesic known by the street names "pink" or "pinky."

Clark described these drugs as novel combinations of chemical compounds that are fatal at extremely low doses. He said chemists unaffiliated with pharmaceutical companies create these drug cocktails to satisfy the public's demand for opioids while protecting themselves from prosecution.

"This one man's death marked the first time we've seen these synthetic drugs that other jurisdictions around the country have been seeing for months," Clark said. "It's the sentinel events that says: 'Oh no, it's coming this way.'"

---