100 times more powerful than Fentanyl. 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Meet “W 18.”
“W 18” is a synthetic opioid developed more than thirty years ago, and patented in the U.S. and Canada in 1984. Pharmaceutical companies weren’t interested in marketing the drug, and W 18 was largely forgotten.
At some point, chemists started developing the drug for consumers in search of a cheap and legal high. The substance first surfaced in Canada in 2015, when Calgary police seized pills containing traces of the drug. Then more than 2.5 pounds of W 18 was discovered in Florida.
The Drug Enforcement Administration hasn’t issued a formal warning on the hazards of W 18 yet, but the danger is real. There are currently no tests to detect the drug in a person’s blood or urine, and W 18’s effects on humans are largely unknown because the compound was only tested on lab mice.
“The first step toward change is awareness.” – Nathaniel Branden
Minnesota Recovery Connection
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