Undersecretary to the Prime Minister Alfredo Mantovano presented the “National prevention plan against the improper use of Fentanyl and other synthetic opiates”. Palazzo Chigi’s move is preventive: an epidemic is underway in the USA, but “since there are no insurmountable borders it is best not to find yourself exposed”
Italy declares fight against Fentanyl: for the moment “there is no emergency” but it is better to be safe than sorry. And don’t give carte blanche to the mafia, above all the ‘Ndrangheta. Undersecretary to the Prime Minister Alfredo Mantovano explains this, presenting the “National prevention plan against the improper use of Fentanyl and other synthetic opiates”, approved in the Council of Ministers yesterday, 11 March. Palazzo Chigi’s move is preventive: it is in the United States that the real emergency already exists but “since there are no insurmountable borders it is best not to find yourself exposed”. Prime Minister Meloni recalls that “the fight against drugs and all pathological addictions is an absolute priority of this government and we will continue to work in this direction, tirelessly and with determination”. The Plan reports that between 2018 and 2023 the Police seized 123.17 grams of Fentanyl powder: “Considering that acute intoxication can occur with approximately 3 milligrams – we read – this quantity could cause thousands of cases”. From 2016 to today, there have been two deaths recorded in Italy due to Fentanyl.
Nas monitoring and controls
The Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci speaks of the narcotic as “a danger for the protection of public health”. If it is true that it was created to be used for pain therapy, its “distorted use has a devastating effect”, because “doses even small ones are dangerous, so local prevention is necessary”. So what do we intend to do in practice? “There will be strengthening of monitoring, strengthened NAS checks and controls to avoid thefts”. Specifically, we are “alerting the Regions and pharmacies to pay maximum attention to avoid theft”.
The measures of the Plan against Fentanyl
Going into specifics, among the measures indicated in the Plan there are: continuous exchange of information between the police force and the intelligence sector; implementation of monitoring of import and export flows of Fentanyl-based drugs; strengthening the police’s control capabilities with portable equipment equipped with Raman technology capable of rapidly identifying synthetic narcotics; alert to the Regions to monitor anomalous prescribing levels. And again: strengthening of the procedures to be followed in laboratories for testing samples and the “involvement of emergency rooms and intensive care units to carry out analytical research in the event of acute intoxication”. Specific training is also planned for police forces and health workers and information campaigns. The Ministry of Health will also have to guarantee the supply and distribution of the antidote to synthetic opioids, naloxone. The second part of the Plan is dedicated to the “Management of a possible emergency”, with specific health and information procedures.
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Mantovano: “Fentanyl transforms those who take it into walking monsters”
Mantovano summarized the main traits that characterize Fentanyl: “This drug is called zombie, because it transforms users into walking monsters. It has an analgesic effect but outside of these health circuits it is replacing heroin. It is low cost, 1 or 2 milligrams are enough to cause not a psycho-physical alteration but to cause death, often due to suffocation”. In 2022, he recalled, “Fentanyl seizures in the US have reached record levels of around 6 tons of powder and 59.6 million tablets. Deaths are peaking, with over 100 thousand deaths in 2022”.
“There is an interest from the ‘Ndrangheta”
Fentanyl trafficking, added Mantovano, has now also reached Europe. Looking at the EU “there are signs in Portugal and GB”. Italian intelligence intercepted and reported “an interest from the ‘ndrangheta, even if they are testing the market to verify the convenience of its inclusion”. The undersecretary recalled – although speaking of an “isolated case” – that in 2023 there were arrests in Piacenza “for intermediation of supplies of quantities of fentanyl between China and the USA, with 18 people involved: 100 thousand doses of fentanyl intercepted and hidden between the pages of books”.
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Prevention comes from school and family
The government’s attention is directed above all to young people, for whom Fentanyl represents “a devastating danger”, being a substance “50 times more dangerous than heroin” which “caused 68 thousand deaths in the United States in 2000 and over 100 thousand in 2022,” said Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara. This is also why the prevention plan – we need to “build a barrier, a wall” – passes through schools. In fact, it was decided to “prepare teachers, especially new hires: specific training is provided for teachers”. Mantovano highlights the risks of emulating stars: “Today the bad teachers are, for example, rappers and no longer the apologists of terrorism. On the internet their texts are easily findable and reach teenagers without filters glorifying this substance. Therefore families must increase their attention”. There is also room for sporting activity, as underlined by the competent minister Abodi, according to whom “an integrated action is needed and sport can also make a contribution on the prevention side in the face of a possible demand which is a potential risk.”
Magi: “The government makes fun of citizens”
The Palazzo Chigi Plan has already attracted the first criticisms. “But does the government really think it is making fun of citizens like this?” says the secretary of +Europa, Riccardo Magi. “Today he is organizing a press conference to present the plan against Fentanyl, a dangerous opioid with devastating effects that is widespread in the USA and which is also gaining ground in Europe. Last June, however, he invited the lobbyists Kevin Sabet and Luke Niforatos whose organization SAM is financed, among others, by pharmaceutical companies such as Insys Therapeutics, known for the distribution of Fentanyl. So on the one hand they make a fierce face against Fentanyl, on the other they invite lobbyists known for their positions against the legalization of cannabis, which however are paid by those who produce this hard drug. The hypocrisy of the Meloni government is the true opium of the Italian people”, is Magi’s position.
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Health and wellness
Study reveals how to track “masked” Fentanyl in tests
In the meeting in San Francisco between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, Fentanyl, the low-cost synthetic opioid that devastates US metropolises, was also discussed. Meanwhile, a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Provincial Toxicology Center have shown that high-resolution mass spectrometry can be used to analyze large-scale urine samples and discover molecules of emerging substances that elude controls and conventional tests
FENTANYL
- In the meeting in San Francisco between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, Fentanyl was also discussed, the low-cost synthetic opioid, 50 times more powerful than heroin, which devastates US cities and kills over 180 Americans a day. Washington, in fact, has asked China to crack down on the production and export of the chemical precursors of Fentanyl. Meanwhile, some Canadian studies reveal how to track a new form of “masked” Fentanyl that escapes normal controls
THE “MASKED” FENTANYL
- The spotlight was on a new form of “masked” Fentanyl, fluorofentanyl, this summer in various areas of the USA: it is also considered 5 times more potent than a normal dose and is held responsible for several overdose deaths. Furthermore, like other “designer drugs” – modified versions of existing psychoactive substances, mostly approved drugs, constructed to circumvent laws and controls – it eluded conventional testing
I STUDY
- A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Provincial Toxicology Center have attempted to address this testing problem and developed a more effective way to find out what new designer drugs are circulating in the community. In a study published in Analytical Chemistry they demonstrated that high-resolution mass spectrometry can be used to analyze large-scale urine samples and discover molecules of emerging substances that have escaped conventional testing