The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sounding the alarm about a new drug that is a more potent form of fentanyl and is contributing to the thousands of overdose deaths that happen every year.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sounding the alarm about a new drug that is a more potent form of fentanyl and is contributing to the thousands of overdose deaths that happen every year.
The new drug, which is a powerful derivative of fentanyl, is called carfentanil and was detected in 513 overdose deaths from 2021 to early 2024, the CDC shared in a new report.
Carfentanil was initially designed as a means to tranquilize large animals but is now being used as a street drug. The drug is estimated to be 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 2 milligrams of carfentanil is enough to tranquilize an elephant and enough to kill 50 people.
Drug overdose deaths have been on the decline since 2023, according to the CDC, but they remain high in the US, largely due to illegally manufactured fentanyl.
The report from the CDC also shares that carfentanil-related overdose deaths were at one time very rare but are becoming more common with the “ever-changing illegal drug supply.” Officials are now sounding the alarm, warning that the drug could threaten the progress made in reducing overdose deathsFrom January 2021 to June 2023, there were less than 30 deaths where carfentanil was detected every six months, according to the CDC report.
However, overdose deaths connected to the drug spiked in the back half of 2023, rising from 29 to 175 by December, a more than 500% increase.
The story remained much the same this year, with the number of carfentanil-related deaths rising to 238 by June, a 720% increase compared to the first six months of 2023.Fentanyl currently accounts for the majority of overdose deaths. The CDC reported that around 70% of all overdose deaths from 2021 to 2024 were related to fentanyl in the Northeast, Midwest, and South.