synthetic

Expectant mothers and women trying to conceive should continue to take supplementary folic acid - the synthetic version of the vitamin folate - as currently advised by medical practioners.

While oxycodone and other addictive prescription painkillers kicked off the opioid epidemic in the U.S, synthetic drugs such as fentanyl have become the drug responsible for the most overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Instead, he described considering the possibility of a "highly toxic synthetic opiate" such as carfentanyl, which has a potency "hundreds of thousands of times greater than fentanyl".

Anyone who has consumed synthetic opioids and experiences the symptoms described should seek urgent medical treatment.

It says dogs trained to detect nitazenes and other synthetic opioids are “due to enter service shortly”.