Carfentanil is a dangerous new factor in the nation’s opioid crisis. This drug is behind rashes of deadly overdoses in Texas, Maryland, and other states. But how much do you know about it? Here are five quick facts about the drug:
Carfentanil, a synthetic opioid, is a white powdery substance that looks like it could be cocaine or heroin. Drug dealers mix it with heroin to presumably make the heroin stronger.- It is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
- The drug is also used to tranquilize elephants and other large mammals.
- This drug is so powerful it poses a significant threat to first responders and law enforcement personnel who touch it by accident. In addition, people can overdose on carfentanil quickly. Multiple doses of the anti-overdose drug Narcan may not be effective.
- Users exposed to carfentanil can experience dizziness, clammy skin, shallow breathing, heart failure and more.
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