A new synthetic drug cocktail allegedly containing fentanyl and arsenic trioxide is wreaking havoc in downtown Bucharest/ „A cheap drug that eats them alive. It causes them gangrene, rots their limbs and they die very quickly”

In recent months, dozens of drug addicts can be seen in agony in the center of the Capital of Romania, in the area bounded by Colțea Street, Calea Moșilor and the „The New Saint George” Church. Whether lying on benches or directly on the asphalt, the picture is gruesome. That’s because most of them have open sores on their legs or hands that cause them terrible pain. These are believed to be caused by the consumption of a highly dangerous synthetic drug cocktail that has recently appeared on the Romanian market. Dozens of such people can be seen in the center of the capital at any time of day.

Anti-drug specialists consulted by G4Media.ro say that dozens of users in the center of Bucharest have been consuming a cocktail of synthetic drugs that recently appeared on the market. In addition to many harmful substances, it is said to contain extremely toxic and dangerous Arsenic trioxide (a poisonous substance, representing a compound of arsenic used to kill mice) and fentanyl (a synthetic painkiller). What is serious is that the dose is very cheap, making it accessible to people with a poor financial situation, but especially to young people.

„The price is very low, between 7 and 12 lei a dose. A dose has somewhere around 0.2 – 0.3 grams. They are sold in transparent, zipper-type sachets. Many times, dealers also mix them with Arsenic trioxide or other toxic substances to increase the potency, but also to give it a degree of toxicity, precisely to unbalance the consumer who will come and look for the dealer to buy frequently. Mice poison is used to kill mice. These substances in small quantities taken by humans have a psychotropic effect and are not lethal, but at the same time, they attack the internal organs and cause the repercussions you see. My big fear is this: in addition to these substances which are very dangerous and very cheap, a new type of drug has appeared on the market in Romania: fentanyl. Fentanyl is produced legally to treat certain diseases, but also illegally, especially in South and Latin America. Illegally produced, fentanyl is very dangerous and very cheap. It costs around 10 lei, two dollars in the US. It has broken Canada and the US, there are thousands of deaths, there are whole neighborhoods with problems, and I am afraid that to these categories of ethnobotanical substances numbering in the hundreds, add this fentanyl. It can often be added in the composition, i.e. in a cocktail, precisely to create a quick addiction and create problems”, said Cătălin Țone, an anti-drug expert, to G4Media.ro.

Bucharest residents who live in the area where the drug consumers live say they have noticed the extent of the phenomenon lately, but especially the rapidity of the degradation of consumers.

„I know an individual who snorted Aurolac (a type of industrial adhesive snorted for its hallucinogenic effect) for years, then switched to drugs and carried on for years. Now, a few months since he started using the damn thing, I don’t think he’ll be carrying it for much longer. He’s degraded extremely. They take a cheap drug, 10 lei a dose, that eats them alive. It causes gangrene, their limbs rot and they die quickly,” a Bucharest resident who lives right in the middle of the area frequented by drug users told G4Media.ro.

Consumers don’t know what they are taking

„Consumers don’t know what they consume. When they go somewhere and take such a mixture, they have no guarantee as to what they are consuming. Unfortunately, there are big problems among teenagers because these drugs are very affordable. One of the side effects of using such drugs is the appearance of gangrene on the limbs, which does not heal until the user is abstinent and undergoes some form of treatment. We’ve had situations where these sores have become infected and their limbs have become infected and they’ve had them amputated. Drug dealers have hired chemists so that this molecular compound can target the central nervous system and quickly establish an addiction. Once addicted, the user is in the hands of the dealer. There’s another situation. Many times when users go to emergency units with ethnobotanical overdoses, doctors don’t even know what treatment to give them, because they don’t know what substance they contain,” said Cătălin Țone, an anti-drug expert.

How is it possible that all this is happening under the eyes of the law?

Given that dozens of consumers can be seen dying at any hour of the day right in the heart of the capital, the question arises as to how it is possible that such a dangerous phenomenon can take place right under the eyes of the law?

Police officers from both the National Police and the Local Police who spoke to G4Media.ro on condition of anonymity claim that checks are carried out regularly. Law enforcement officials say that drug traffickers choose abandoned houses as distribution points, which once they are „uncovered”, are replaced by others, and besides, as soon as the ringleaders are arrested, others take their place.

„Criminal cases are filed and they are raided and taken into custody, but documenting such a criminal case takes several months because the punishment is not big (n.r. for trafficking), it is from two to seven years in prison. The moment we close such red dots as we call them, traffickers migrate to other nationalized houses. When they are arrested, others take their place and so on. The traffickers are tied to a specific location to meet the consumers,” one of the lawmen with knowledge of the phenomenon told G4Media.

According to a recently released UN report, Romania is the world leader in ethnobotanical consumption

Drug use has exploded, and Romania is totally exposed from a medical standpoint. That’s what the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently reported:

„Music festivals = death triangles for minors

-frequent drinking behavior has doubled

-great increase in the use of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, fentanyl and a range of newly invented chemicals

-production of synthetic drugs is cheap, simple and fast

-the authorities find it difficult to track the highly flexible synthetic drug trafficking sector, as it is not tied to specific regions or crop cycles, unlike heroin or cocaine.

-Afghanistan -a decline of heroin production, but has become a major source of amphetamine.

-Ukraine -increased production and trafficking of synthetic drugs following the Russian invasion, uncontrolled area

– in Romania drug use has doubled in a decade

– 8.7% of 16-year-olds have used cannabis at least once in their lives

-68.6% of Romanian teenage users started using in their teens. Serious health issues