In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a monster that grew multiple new heads each time one was cut off. Drug regulation often seems to operate in a similar way. A problematic drug is declared illegal, scheduled, and penalized, but several others pop up to replace it.
Recently, while authorities worldwide were busy with stemming fentanyl, another lethal concoction was beginning to being marketed: Brorphine and its analogues, a family of drugs similar to fentanyl.
Table of Contents
- What is brorphine?
- Brorphine and orphine drugs history
- Is brorphine legal in 2026?
- Brorphine- a dangerous ingredient in purple heroin
- What are designer drugs and NPS drugs? Is brorphine a designer drug?
- Who is using brorphine in 2026?
- What are the effects of brorphine?
- Brorphine regulation and treatment
What is brorphine?
Brorphine is a potent synthetic opioid, with similar characteristics to morphine and fentanyl. It has greater potency than morphine, and comparable or slightly lower potency than fentanyl.
It has been identified in many drug sample forms, including powder, crystal, tablet, or capsule forms. It was also found being sold as fake opioid medication.
According to the UN, Brorphine is not tested on humans and has no licit medical or industrial use.
Brorphine and orphine drugs history
Brorphine is quite the novel substance. The first time it was detected and reported was just a few short years ago, in 2019.
The UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) put out an early warning advisory in 2019, and reported it found in seized drug samples across North America and Europe. In the US, brorphine was also first reported in 2019, either on its own or mixed with heroin or fentanyl.
Even more recently, since 2024, and with countries already having taken steps to outlaw and stem brorphine, several brorphine analogues (chemically similar drugs) emerged. The new drugs in the brorphine family have been reported more recently to the UNODC, these include, orphine, chlorphine, fluorphine, and iodorphine, amongst others, some reported as recently as mid-2025.
The danger is no longer just Brorphine, but rather a whole host of similar concoctions, each slightly chemically altered, allowing drug manufacturers to circumvent existing drug laws, while producing similar opioid effects.
Is brorphine legal in 2026?
In 2021, the DEA temporarily scheduled (declared illegal) Brorphine as a schedule 1 controlled substance. In 2023, the substance was permanently scheduled.
The DEA based this decision on findings that the abuse of brorphine has been associated with at least 21 fatalities in the United States between August 2019 and June 2021, a high potential for abuse, and that the drug has no accepted medical use.
In 2022, brorphine was internationally controlled (meaning, the UN declared the drug illegal).
Brorphine- a dangerous ingredient in purple heroin
Brorphine has been identified in a drug known as ‘purple heroin’. Purple heroin is a heroin mixture known for its distinctive purple color and often contains little or no heroin, but rather a mixture of different drugs.
The WHO (World Health Organization) reports that “ Brorphine was reported to be one of the constituents in poly-substance mixtures called ‘purple heroin’ and such mixtures have been found to include benzodiazepines, acetaminophen, anti-depressants, and fentanyl together with brorphine.”
What are designer drugs and NPS drugs? Is brorphine a designer drug?
You might have seen these terms associated with brorphine and other orphines, and wondered what they mean. While the term ‘designer drugs’ evokes images of bespoke drugs, exclusively for the upper class, in reality, it just means new analogues of drugs that are created to skirt around existing drug laws.
NPS, or new psychoactive substances, is a less evocative term for these novel substances, and is the term the UN prefers to use for these drugs. Brorphine and its analogues fit these categories perfectly- new drugs created to avoid existing drug laws.
Who is using brorphine in 2026?
Brorphine is being marketed as an alternative to fentanyl, and dangerously so. It might not be fentanyl, but its risks, harm potential, and overdose dangers are very much the same.
Based on what street drugs are seized together with brorphine, the DEA reports that the population abusing brorphine is pretty much the same as those abusing prescription opioid analgesics, heroin, tramadol, fentanyl, and other synthetic opioids.
What are the effects of brorphine?
Brorphine and its analogues, similar to standard opioids, depress the nervous system, slowing down breathing. This can lead to cyanosis (bluish or purplish discoloring of the skin, caused by oxygen deprivation), respiratory depression, and death.
Brorphine regulation and treatment
Because brorphine and its analogues are opioids, early access to Narcan is critical in overdose situations. The CDC advises to always give Naloxone in the case of suspected overdose and provide rapid transport to a healthcare facility.
The United Nations urges awareness amongst law enforcement, health care providers, and regulators and push for ongoing monitoring of brorphine and its analogues, noting that early detection is key to rapidly identifying and responding to these threats.
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