Fentanyl risk: NZ called out in US State Department briefing

A United States Government-backed briefing has highlighted New Zealand as a country with a high risk emerging of fentanyl abuse.

Fentanyl is a strong opioid which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

"Australia and New Zealand are another market where I think there is a high potential for fentanyl emerging," Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown, Senior Fellow of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology told a press briefing on the United States fentanyl crisis.

"They’re highly valuable markets with high profit margins."

Fentanyl can be prescribed for treating severe pain but it could also be readily made and used illegally.

Felbab-Brown said New Zealand's existing drug networks "provide ample opportunities" for the spread of synthetic opioids.

"We see again not just the Chinese criminal networks that have long been dominant actors in methamphetamine there, but also now Sinoa Cartel and Jalisco Nueva Generación trying to penetrate those markets, bringing in cocaine, bringing in meth."

In the United States, 300 people a day were dying of fentanyl abuse, Felbab-Brown said, calling it an "epidemic".

With the drug killing tens of thousands of Americans ever year, the statement has sparked concerns about New Zealand having a similar crisis.

New Zealand has seen illicit fentanyl use before.

According to police, powdered fentanyl was detected in New Zealand almost two years ago and likely being sold as methamphetamine or cocaine.

Seven people were taken to Wairarapa Hospital in 2022 after taking it in powdered form.

A class B drug, fentanyl can be prescribed for pain relief. In 2022, more than 8000 people accessed it. However in the past year, the emergence of nitazines, which are 25 times more potent than fentanyl, has experts concerned.

Sarah Helm from the New Zealand Drug Foundation said it's likely several fatalities have been linked to this group of opiods within the past year.

"Synthetic drugs are sweeping global illicit markets... and it's thought existing trafficking networks provide ample opportunity for entry here."

In one Mexican city, one third of bodies taken to morgues tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.

In New Zealand, customs officials were concerned but interceptions of illicit imports remained low.

Police told 1News current misuse of opioids wass low compared to other drug types and "does not appear" to be increasing.

"Illicit fentanyl is rarely encountered in New Zealand and, when it is, it is almost always in small amounts. Due to the danger posed by synthetic opioids, police remain alert to changes in this environment."

Police called the fentanyl sold as cocaine in Wairarapa in 2022 an "isolated incident".

"It is likely the seller and purchaser were not aware the product contained fentanyl."

However, the Drug Foundation said New Zealand can't afford to ignore the wider impact of opioids in the country.

Executive director Sarah Helm is calling for Pharmac to fully fund a nasal spray, which is an antidote for overdoses.

It could prove the difference between life and death, and was hard to access in New Zealand.

Otherwise, Helm said the numbers of lives lost to the drug could surpass drownings.

"We need to take action.

"By the time you get to the hospital, or even in the ambulance, it could be too late."

Police said the misrepresentation or adulteration of recreational drugs with fentanyl, or other potent synthetic opioids, was a significant health risk, with even small amounts capable of causing "serious harm".

"Police advice to those looking at taking illicit drugs is, no use is best use."

Where use was contemplated, police said drug checking services such as High Alert and The Level were recommended.

For more on the warning to New Zealand from the United States, click the video at the top of this article.