ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The DEA New Orleans Division said a new drug, nitazene, is an emerging threat.

They’re seeing it mixed with other drugs and say the side effects are deadly.

“They’re not new to the DEA. This rash of overdoses that we’ve seen on the Northshore just within the last few weeks highlighted a different type of nitazene,” Special Agent in Charge of New Orleans John P. Scott said.

The DEA is sounding the alarm on the powerful and potentially deadly drug after it was seized during operations in St. Tammany Parish.

“Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. And this specific nitazene is even, at night, a thing that we’ve identified through laboratory analysis. It is 500 times more potent than heroin. If you’re not getting a pill prescribed to you by a doctor, do not take a pill that you get off the street or online,” Scott said.

Nitazene was developed in the 1950s as a painkiller but was never approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Scott explained dealers are targeting adults and even young teens.

He urges people to stay away from the drug, as it potentially causes overdoses to happen more quickly.

“Because of the different methods that we see now, designs being mixed with fentanyl, we see nice designs mixed with heroin. And we also see that designs being pressed into counterfeit pills. So you are hitting multiple different types of people,” Scott said.

St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Christopher Tape said his office is actively looking for the drug.

Though fentanyl remains the leading cause of overdose deaths, Tape said nitazene can increase the risk of respiratory depression.

“The cause of death is they stopped breathing because of this overdose, this respiratory depression. The beautiful thing is there’s something called Narcan that basically blocks that effect and reverses the respiratory depression, but you need more than one dose, and you need to call 911 right away,” Tape said.

Meanwhile, local detox centers are reminding those seeking help that their doors are always open.

“A lot of people feel, especially when they’re in an active addiction, that things are hopeless and there’s nothing that can be done. But at NOLA Detox, we know that’s not true, and we’re going to do everything we can to get them into recovery so that they can have a good quality of life,” NOLA Detox Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Hammond said.

“Our main focus again is really meeting the patients where they are. Trying to remove the stigma and the embarrassment of, you know, their disease process and having them understand that we’re here to treat them. To the best of our ability for them,” NOLA Detox Chief Clinical Officer Geshia Ordoyne said.

The DEA said it will track down dealers responsible for fatal overdoses and promises to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.