Etonitazene is an analgesic drug, first reported in 1957, that has been shown to have approximately one thousand to one thousand five hundred times the potency of morphine in animal models, but only sixty times the potency in humans. It is a type of benzimidazole opioid, structurally associated with clonitazene (p-ethoxybenzyl group is replaced by p-chlorobenzyl group). With caution in chemical studies in rodents, since at a high dosage, side effects are possible: respiratory depression, vomiting, death, can be addictive.
Etonitazene is a DEA Schedule I controlled substance. Substances in the DEA Schedule I have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse. Etonitazene is a designer drug with obvious physiological and psychoactive effects.