Health officials are warning about a drug 100 times more potent than fentanyl that has caused deaths in 37 states in recent years.
The drug, called carfentanil, is a derivative of fentanyl that was designed to tranquilize elephants, and is the most potent commercial opioid on the market.
There were 513 overdoses from carfentanil between January 2021 and June 2024, hitting states like Florida and West Virginia the hardest, according to a CDC report published today.
But while the overall numbers are low, officials are concerned because the total has increased increased seven-fold in the past year.
This could threaten to reverse a recent drop in drug overdoses seen in the country.
Carfentanil comes in powder, paper, tablet, patch and spray form, and can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin.
In it’s powdered form, the drug mimics cocaine or heroin, and is often mixed into other illegal drugs like xylazine or counterfeit pills.
As little as 2 milligrams, about one 50th of a pinch of salt, of the drug can be lethal – slowing breathing to dangerous levels, leading to brain damage or death.
CDC officials said: ‘recent sharp increases in overdose deaths with carfentanil detected, although rare, highlight the ever-changing illegal drug supply and threaten progress in reducing overdose deaths.’
According to the DEA, the drug is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
It’s unclear where the drugs are coming from, but the report states that they were likely manufactured illegally, not stolen from legal caches.
In a 2021 drug bust in Southern California, police found 21 kilos of the drug in the home of two US residents, Christine Ponce and Andres Jesus Morales.
Before it hit the streets, carfentanil was originally designed in 1974 to treat large mammals like elephants and bears.
It works on the same systems in the brain as codeine, heroin and oxycodone, and essentially stops or dulls pain. It’s highly addictive.
Powdered fentanyls entered the US later than they did in other countries because they were difficult to mix into black tar heroin, which used to be more common, according to the CDC report.
But as prescription and counterfeit pills became more popular in the past few
