All Podcasts / The Daily / A Flood of New, Deadlier Drugs
The Daily
The Daily

A Flood of New, Deadlier Drugs

May 26, 2026 • 26m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

The Daily examines the emerging synthetic drug crisis that's surpassing fentanyl in lethality and complexity. New York Times correspondent Azam Ahmed reveals how synthetic drugs like nitazines are 20-40 times more potent than fentanyl, easily manufactured, and constantly evolving to evade regulation. Through an investigation of Chicago's Cook County Jail, the episode exposes how these drugs are being smuggled on paper and why traditional drug war enforcement strategies are failing against this new threat.

The Evolution Beyond Fentanyl

Azam Ahmed explains how his reporting in Mexico on the drug war's failures led him to uncover a disturbing trend: the synthetic drug revolution that began with fentanyl has spawned over 1,450 new psychoactive substances in the last decade. These lab-created drugs are more potent, more deadly, easier to manufacture and smuggle, harder to track and treat, and more profitable than traditional plant-based drugs. The regulatory response to fentanyl has only accelerated innovation, with traffickers constantly creating new variants to circumvent controls.

  • Over 1,450 new psychoactive substances now exist, tripling in the last decade alone
  • Synthetic drugs are largely more potent, deadly, easier to manufacture and smuggle, harder to track and treat, and more profitable than ever before
  • The shift from plant-based to synthetic drugs represents a fundamental revolution in drug production and trafficking
" It's gone up like it's tripled in the last decade. I mean, the number of new drugs that are coming out, it's like chefs testing new recipes because it's all synthetic now. "
" Basically what you've described is the idea that regulation just breeds innovation. Innovation. It's one of the most entrepreneurial markets in the world. "

Nitazines: The Next Generation Threat

Ahmed introduces nitazines, opioids 20-40 times more potent than fentanyl that were originally developed in the 1950s but never marketed due to their extreme potency. Drug manufacturers discovered the archived formula and began producing variants, which are now spreading throughout the United States and Europe. The emergence of nitazines demonstrates how enforcement efforts against fentanyl simply push traffickers to find even more dangerous alternatives.

  • Nitazines are 20-40 times more potent than fentanyl and were created in the 1950s by Swiss Pharmaceutical but never marketed
  • Multiple variants of nitazines have been discovered across the United States and Europe
  • Europe's tight control of fentanyl precursor chemicals led directly to the emergence of nitazines there
" This is the approach of the drug war. It's to focus on enforcement, to focus on supply. Supply. It's to focus on the supply side. And then they're like, oh, cool, okay, we'll just come up with something else. "

📚 6 more sections below

Sign up to unlock the complete summary with all insights, key points, and quotes

Listen on Apple Podcasts More Episodes from The Daily