While the dangers of fentanyl have been dominating headlines for years, the death toll from another class of extremely potent synthetic opioids called “nitazenes” has been climbing steadily. For decades, knowledge of nitazenes — also called benzimidazole opioids — was limited to those researching opioid pharmacology, but that all changed in 2019, when the drugs emerged on the illicit street drug market — first in Europe, then in the United States. While it started out in eight countries, it had