1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Fentanyl is set to join the likes of meth, cocaine 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: and heroin becoming a Class A drug in New Zealand. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: Ventanyl not big issue here yet, but in the US 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: it is. Other countries are starting to struggle with it. 5 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: Massive university drug researcher Chris Wilkins is with me Hi 6 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Chris good innen, it's not a big problem here yet, 7 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 1: but do you think it will be? 8 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 2: Well, this is the thing. I think this is a 9 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 2: really important and good preemptive move to reclassify fentanyl analogs 10 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 2: as Class A just because I mean, we don't have 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: to look very far to see some really terrible levels 12 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 2: of opiod overdose largely related to fentanyl. Fentanyl put into 13 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 2: other opioids. So in the US there's been of one 14 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: hundred thousand drug overdose guests per year since twenty twenty one, 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 2: So that's a real catastrophe and the same thing as 16 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 2: in Canada. And now I think it's just sensible to 17 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 2: start preparing and expecting the worst. Preparing for the worst. 18 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: Is it people buying it and having it knowing what 19 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: they're taking, or is it just being slipped into something else. 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, this is the real insidious thing about fentanyl. 21 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 2: So initially fentanyl was substituted for heroin because it was 22 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 2: an opioid, but increasingly fentanyl is now being used a 23 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 2: doctor to adulterate a whole lot of drugs like methan, 24 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 2: fetamine and cocaine as well. So they called us the 25 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 2: fourth wave of the opioid epidemic in the US. And 26 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 2: really this has been driven largely by drug producers and 27 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 2: traffickers because tunel is so much more cheaper to produce, 28 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 2: so you can produce twenty times more fentanyl from kilogram 29 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 2: of ventanyl than heroin, so it's incredibly cheaper. So basically 30 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: the drug traffickers are being driven here by profit and 31 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: they've been replaced in heroin, the fentanyl, but now increasingly 32 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 2: a whole lot of other drugs. And given that economic incentive, 33 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 2: it's hard to see that New Zealand is going to 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 2: avoid this problem. 35 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, the idea of making this a class at a 36 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: drug and I'm not saying that you know, our police 37 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: are doing anything wrong necessarily, but I mean, if you 38 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 1: look at cocaine, if you look at matthews, we've never 39 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: had more of it and it's never been cheaper and 40 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: they are all class as, So what hope do we 41 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: have of actually stopping it. 42 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a really good point, so that this is 43 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 2: not the end of the story and it shouldn't be 44 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 2: the only response we do. And of course it's an 45 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 2: imperfect response, but if we're going to have a modor 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 2: where we have different classifications of drugs, that seems to 47 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,839 Speaker 2: me fentanel is the posed a child for the top 48 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 2: of the pyramid in terms of penalties. But yes, we've 49 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 2: got to do a lot more different things, so joining 50 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 2: out our system in terms of drug detection, drug checking, 51 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 2: more border control evening and things like fentany or testing 52 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,799 Speaker 2: patches where you can test the drugs you think it's 53 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 2: meth and fettermine you will think it's ecstasy, but you 54 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 2: can detect whether it's vent or in there. But there's 55 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 2: all types of overdose prevention and measures we could use 56 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 2: as well. 57 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: All right, Chris, thank you very much for that. Chris Wilkins, 58 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: Massive University Drug researcher with us. For more from Heather 59 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be 60 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.