A weapons-grade chemical that is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more powerful that fentanyl has begun killing hundreds of drug users in the U.S.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), carfentanil has been surging within the U.S. drug market.
"The presence of carfentanil in illicit U.S. drug markets is cause for concern, as the relative strength of this drug could lead to an increase in overdoses and overdose-related deaths, even among opioid-tolerant users. The presence of carfentanil poses a significant threat to first responders and law enforcement personnel who may come in contact with this substance," a DEA officer safety alert states.
The Center for Disease Control has been tracking a rise of deaths related to the substance since 2023. The agency reported that deaths with carfentanil detected rose during the first half of the year from 29 deaths 175 in the second half of the year.
The deaths continued to rise in the first six months of 2024, period during which the CDC reported that there were 238 overdose deaths that included the drug. From the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024, the number of carfentanil-related overdose deaths rose 720 percent.
"You're talking about not even a grain of salt that could be potentially lethal," Frank Tarentino, the DEA's chief of operations for its northeast region, told the Associated Press. "This presents an extremely frightening proposition for substance abuse dependent people who seek opioids on the street today."
According to the AP, the rise in carfentanil might be related to the Chinese government restricting the sales of fentanyl precursors.
"It's like a biological weapon," Michael King Jr., founder of the Opioid Awareness Foundation told the AP. "If the world thinks we had a problem with fentanyl, that's minute compared to what we're going to be dealing with with carfentanil."
The DEA safety alert states that carfentanil is used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large mammals. Its lethal dose range for humans is unknown, but it is considered to be 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, which can be lethal in the 2 milligram range.
Naloxone is an antidote for opioid overdose and can reverse the effects of carfentanil. The DEA states that multiple doses might be needed in the case of an overdose and that treatment should involve administering naloxone every two to three minutes until the person starts breathing.
