September 6, 2024 – Hopkins County is now sadly on the cutting edge of a new illegal synthetic opiod spreading across the world as a murder case is being investigated after a 16-year-old girl overdosed on the new drug. Three suspects have been identified as participants in the supply chain of the illegal pills that were laced with N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene. The new synthetic substance is believed to be 25 times more potent than fentanyl and 500 times stronger than morphine. It is believed illegal manufacturers of illicit oxycodone tablets are using the potent substance as a cheaper alternative to other drug ingredients.
Currently, there is very little information about N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene and it’s dangerous effects on unsuspecting buyers of illegal drugs. Overdose data worldwide from this stronger substance is scarce, but latest data shows 20 overdoses across the US in 2023 with cases concentrated across seven states none of which are close to Texas. Now, this overdose death in Hopkins County may be the first verified overdose death in Texas from this horrible synthetic opiod variant.
Hopkins County Sheriff Lewis Tatum and his staff are pressing forward in their investigation of three suspects and could charge those suspects each with a felony murder charge for their role in distributing the deadly drugs. In a recently released press release, Sheriff Lewis Tatum gave some sobering advice for anyone that buys drugs from an unknown source by saying, “I would like to remind the community, any illicit pill you take can kill you.”
