Nevada will on Wednesday become the first state to use fentanyl in the execution of a death row inmate.
The state opted to use the synthetic opioid on convicted double-murderer Scott Dozier because it could not obtain alternative drugs, according to a local report. Dozier’s execution will be the state’s first in 12 years due to pushback from pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate painkiller 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug led to 20,000 overdose deaths in 2016, according to federal data.
Dozier will be injected with fentanyl, as well as the sedative midazolam and another drug. State officials will not disclose how they obtained the drugs, but stated they were ordered through Cardinal Health.
