Sierra Fox of FOX 5 reports that the DEA is warning citizens in the D.C. region about a potentially lethal new substance that is as toxic as fentanyl.

The Substance Enforcement Administration has issued a warning about a hazardous and lethal new drug in the Washington, D.C. area.

The medication is known as isotonitazene, or “Iso” or “Toni” for short. The DEA has declared it an illegal substance and will punish anyone caught with it.

“Iso” was discovered in powder form near Washington, D.C., and might appear yellow, brown, or off-white. It has also been pressed into counterfeit tablets in other parts of the United States.

As a result of many overdoses, the substance was detected in the Midwest in 2019. The DEA now claims to be going south and east.

The synthetic opioid has the same potency as fentanyl and is stronger than heroin and morphine. “Iso,” like fentanyl, is being combined with other substances and can lead to lethal overdoses.

According to the DEA, it can only be recognized by a lab test, so drug traffickers may not understand they’re selling it, and customers may not realize they’re purchasing it until it’s too late.

It’s the first time a news crew has been allowed inside in years. FOX 5 DC is getting an exclusive look at a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special lab.

“The main message is that people have to keep in mind that with all the synthetic drugs out there and the way they’re being mixed, they never know what they’re buying, so they have to be cautious in terms of how they’re ingesting drugs,” says DEA Strategic Analyst Maura Gaffney. “It doesn’t matter if they’re buying from the same dealer all the time – the mix could vary from one buyer to the next, so we have to keep in mind you don’t know what you’re ingesting.”

The DEA is reminding people to only take drugs prescribed by a doctor because if not, they could be laced with a deadly substance.