The drug is nine times more potent than heroin and can be purchased online from Chinese manufacturers. While U-47700 can be used medically as a painkiller, the drug is often cut into heroin, increasing the drug’s potential lethality. Officials believe U-47700 has contributed to at least 100 deaths in Illinois since its introduction into the state.
While Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Wyoming have specifically banned U-47700, the drug is still legal under state law in most of the U.S., including Illinois. However, under federal law, the Drug Enforcement Administration categorized the substance as a Schedule I narcotic in November 2016.
A bill introduced in the Illinois Senate by Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, seeks to include U-47700 as a schedule I controlled substance under state law, according to the Herald & Review.
“The issue we have is heroin on its own is already deadly enough, but with this U-4 it is raising the bar and making it extremely deadly,” Brandon Zanotti, state attorney of Williamson County, told the Herald & Review. “I think there has been around 100 deaths [in the state] directly related to U-4, that we know of, and probably more.”
More articles on opioids:
Maryland NICUs see surge of infants born with opioid withdrawal symptoms
Alaska governor officially labels opioid epidemic ‘state disaster’
New Jersey places 5-day limit on initial opioid prescriptions
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