MADISON — Wisconsin's Controlled Substances Board has outlawed a synthetic opioid known as U-47700.
The board banned the drug on Tuesday, September 20th.
Rep. John Nygren's office said the move came at the request of Wisconsin district attorneys. Nygren has written 17 different laws to combat prescription drug and heroin abuse.
A spokeswoman for the board didn't immediately return messages.
U-47700 was developed in the mid-1970s as a painkiller.
The drug is eight times more potent than morphine and has been linked to at least 50 deaths nationwide.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued notice earlier this month than it intends to outlaw the drug effective in early October.