"Thomas Highsmith worked at a prestigious laboratory in Salt Lake City designing low-friction laminates for high-performance skis. In 2003, he started spending long nights in his lab secretly manufacturing a personal supply of etonitazene. Shortly after completing the synthesis, he became hopelessly addicted. He would show up for work clutching a 12-ounce spray bottle of etonitazene and fiendishly snort it throughout the day. Over the course of a couple of months, his tolerance escalated to the point where he was taking 300 times his starting dose. A coworker became suspicious of Highsmith’s odd behavior and reported him to the police. His etonitazene supply was seized, and he was prescribed methadone to combat the withdrawal. At that point, his addiction equated to 500 bags of heroin a day, and the methadone umbrella did nothing to deflect the 10,000-pound etonitazene anvil hurtling toward his head. Highsmith never received a criminal sentence because he was found dead in his home before his first court date. The withdrawals were so severe that he had killed himself to escape the pain."

Common Name: Metonitazene
Synonyms: Methoxynitazene, 2-(p-methoxybenzyl)-1-diethylaminoethyl-5-nitrobenzimidazole
IUPAC Name: 2-[2-(4-methoxybenzyl)-5-nitro-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl]-N,N-diethylethanamine
Molecular Formula: C21H26N4O3
Molecular Mass: 382.5 g/mol



One of a number of derivatives of the opioid nitazene. Nitazenes are a family of potent opioids that pre-date the fentanyl family. Metonitazene is reported to be 100x more potent an analgesic than morphine (as documented here*). Its better documented analogue etonitazene (ethoxynitazene) is reportedly as much as 1000x more potent as an analgesic than morphine.

The safety of this substance is therefore highly questionable as it is extremely potent, has high potential for dependency and addiction, and is likely to cause respiratory depression.

Legal status in UK: Unconfirmed.

Legal status in US: Although not explicitly controlled at Federal level this substance may be deemed a controlled substance analogue of etonitazene under the Federal Analog Act under certain circumstances. Legality under state law will vary depending on the specific legislation enacted in each US state.