LAST UPDATE | 10 Nov 2023
AT LEAST 40 people have overdosed on heroin in Dublin city in the last two days, the HSE has confirmed.
There have been no reported deaths to date, but drug users have been warned there is a particularly potent batch of heroin circulating in the city.
The HSE has issued a fresh warning about the heroin batch this evening, after forensic investigation confirmed that trace amounts of a nitazene-type substance were found in a brown powder associated with one of the overdoses in Dublin.
Nitazene is a potent and dangerous synthetic opioid that poses a risk of overdose, hospitalistation and death.
The HSE said there is extra risk around heroin use at this time, and warned that people should not try new types of drugs or new batches being sold on the market. It added that it is safer not to use drugs at all.
Eamon Keenan, the HSE’s National Clinical Lead on Addiction Services, earlier told The Journal that some people were “very sick” today and yesterday, but there have been no fatalities so far.
“Obviously, there does seem to be a new batch in the Dublin city centre region, which is more potent than the batches which had been there previously. One of the reasons I’m saying that is that it’s taking more Naloxone to revive people after the overdose than it traditionally would have.
“But at the same time, that’s also a good indication of the fact that we’ve done a lot of work getting Naloxone out there into people’s hands so that they are giving the Naloxone. So, even though it might take an extra dose of Naloxone, the Naloxone was there, and people are responding to it.
“So from that perspective, we’re very happy with the response around Naloxone. We’ve done a lot of training and we’ve provided a lot of Naloxone to people and we can see it being used in this circumstance.”
Naloxone, which is widely accessible in Ireland, is a prescription medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drugs such as heroin, fentanyl and methadone.
So far this year, the HSE has distributed 3,849 units of Naloxone and trained around 1,030 people in administering it. Homelessness services, medical centres and addiction treatment facilities have a supply of the medication.
Other opioids
There have been growing concerns in recent months about a possible increase in the use of opioids such as fentanyl and nitazenes.
Keenan said the HSE is carrying out tests on blood and urine samples from people who have overdosed in the last two days, in a bid to better understand what’s in the heroin batch in question.
“Hospitals have provided us with urine samples, blood samples, and we’re analysing those. We’re trying to get an actual sample of the substance from the guards, so that we can analyse that.”
Keenan said, as soon as he and his colleagues know what’s in this heroin batch, the information will be made public.
If there is a synthetic opioid there, it’s really important that people know about this, but at the minute I don’t have clear evidence that there is a synthetic opioid.
“So what we’re saying is, there’s a particularly strong batch of heroin, which seems to be circulating in the inner city area. This isn’t happening outside Dublin at the minute.”
Anyone taking heroin has been advised to not do it alone, have Naloxone on hand, and take a test dose rather than a regular dose given the high potency of this particular patch.
“Go to your service provider and get Naloxone, that’s a big one. Maybe take a test dose before you take your regular dose. And don’t use it alone,” Keenan advised.
“If you’re with someone who overdoses, contact the emergency services and stay with them until the emergency services arrive,” he added.
In terms of identifying an overdose, Keenan said people should look out for the following symptoms:
If the person is unresponsive, if they have pinpoint pupils (pupils which remain abnormally small under normal lighting conditions), very pale skin, if they’re snoring, if they have blue lips, or nails, if their breathing is very shallow.
Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward, who previously worked in addiction services, said he is not sure of the chemical breakdown of this particular batch of heroin, but it’s clearly stronger than usual.
He told The Journal: “People are taking the same amount of heroin that they would normally take, but the potency of this batch is a lot stronger than normal so people don’t have the same tolerance.
“Obviously I’d tell people to err on the side of caution but, if they are going to take it, I’d advise them to do it within groups, not do it on their own. And I’d also advise anybody that has Naloxone to have that with them as well.”
Contains reporting by Mairead Maguire
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