A new type of additive is showing up in the illicit drug supply in Maryland and other states, making medical experts worry it could be a new threat to the area and to the global public for its extreme potency.
Orphines are a class of synthetic opioids that first appeared in 2019, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
There are a handful of different chemical compounds that fall under the categorization of orphines, however, the Maryland Department of Health’s Rapid Analysis of Drugs (RAD), has so far only found N-Propionitrile Chlorphine in drug samples in Baltimore City and Calvert County.
