Since the Taliban began to clamp down on heroin production in Afghanistan, where most supplies of the drug originate, users are now turning to deadly man-made opioids.
As Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains on the In the News podcast, gardaí expect such drugs to hit the streets with catastrophic effects as the supplies of organic heroin dry up in the next year.
They are easy to make and hard to detect, and can be taken in many ways, from vaping to tablet form.
Could Ireland follow the US with a full-blown opioid crisis?
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This episode was originally published in June 2024.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.