A new Arizona law cracks down on the sale of synthetic opioids that a Republican lawmaker warns are deadlier than fentanyl.
Recently signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, the new law classifies synthetic opioids known as “nitazenes” as a narcotic.
That means selling it will result in more serious felony charges.
The bill, SB 1622, was pushed by Vanessa Ayala, the mother of Noah Ayala, a teenager who died of a fentanyl overdose last year.
Ayala told a Senate committee in February that nitazenes pose a new and serious challenge.
“They are extremely potent and pose major health risks to every addict while also including [those] who unintentionally encounter nitazene,” Ayala said.
She also advocated for another bill, dubbed “Noah’s Law,” at the Capitol this year that would have increased penalties for drug offenses. That bill did not pass.
Sen. Carine Werner (R-Scottsdale), the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement that it’s important for Arizonans to remember that fentanyl isn’t the only dangerous drug out there.
“Drug dealers are beginning to sell nitazenes in communities across Arizona. These synthetic drugs are considered much more powerful than fentanyl,” Werner wrote in a newsletter. “We must take action to prevent unsuspecting victims from senselessly losing their lives to opioid overdoses, and SB 1622 is a step in the right direction,” she said.
The bill defines eight opioids as narcotics: butonitazene, etodesnitazene, etonitazepyne, flunitazene, isotonitazene, metodesnitazene, metonitazene, and protonitazene.
