How an Opioid Deadlier Than Heroin Became Off Limits for Researchers
- Study of ‘China White’ fentanyl needs law-enforcement approval
- Opioid is resistant to overdose antidote; NIH research stalled
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A powerful illegal opioid is causing tens of thousands of deaths, but a standoff between government researchers and federal law enforcement is keeping scientists from finding a way to stop it from killing.
Overdoses from synthetic opioids called fentanyl have surged more than 500 percent since 2013, killing roughly 20,000 people in the U.S. in 2016 and outpacing deaths from heroin. Worryingly, people who overdose on such designer drugs, known collectively as China White, have been said to be less responsive to antidotes now widely carried by first responders.