Latest news with #carfentanil
CBS News
2 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Riverside County health officials confirm first fatal overdose of opioid used as animal tranquilizer
Riverside County Public Health officials have confirmed the first fatal carfentanil overdose in the county, after a man in his 40s died from consuming the synthetic opioid earlier this year. Carfentanil is a fentanyl derivative that is 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The death occurred in March, and county health officials noted that it can take months to confirm the cause of death. Carfentanil was developed for use as a tranquilizer in large animals, such as elephants, and due to its potency, even a microscopic amount can cause a fatal overdose, according to the DEA. "This white, powdery drug closely resembles other substances like fentanyl or cocaine, but its danger far exceeds that of nearly any other opioid on the street," the DEA wrote. Its popularity in the illicit drug market is rising, the agency said, with most of the carfentanil seizures in 2024 being in a pill or tablet form. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, U.S. deaths with carfentanil detected increased approximately sevenfold, from 29 deaths in the first six months of 2023 to 238 during the same period in 2024. The DEA noted that carfentanil has been found mixed with other drugs or pressed into pills that look like prescription painkillers, often to increase drug potency and profits. Users may be unaware they are consuming carfentanil. Exposure to carfentanil can cause respiratory depression or arrest, drowsiness, disorientation, sedation, pinpoint pupils, and clammy skin. The onset of these symptoms usually occurs within minutes of exposure. Treating or preventing a carfentanil overdose is difficult, as the antidote naloxone may not work in its normal doses, and fentanyl strips may not detect carfentanil.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
‘A crisis': Mother of man who died of carfentanil overdose warns of contaminated drug supply
Karen Cadieux (right), is seen in a photo with her son Stephen Kliend (left) who died of a carfentanil overdose on March 14, 2025. He was 42-years-old. (CTV News Edmonton) The mother of a son who died of a carfentanil overdose in March – the highest month for opioid-related deaths in Edmonton on record – is wondering why no public safety alerts are being issued about the toxic drug supply circulating in the city. 'There was carfentanil in his drug – and that's a death sentence,' Karen Cadieux told CTV News Edmonton. Carfentanil is known to be 100 times stronger than other varieties of fentanyl. Cadieux said that her son Stephen Kliend had been struggling with drug addiction for 20 years after his father died of cancer and his brother was killed at a house party. Kliend worked to recover from his meth addiction by going to voluntary treatment, joining the navy and going to university. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, the isolation became too much for him and he started using again, said Cadieux. 'For anyone who's trying to maintain recovery, the worst thing for them is isolation.' Cadieux said Kliend was very open and honest with her about his recovery journey. 'He would've never willingly taken that drug.' In March, 87 opioid-related deaths were recorded in the Edmonton area – the most since 2016 when the province began tracking them. CARFENTANIL Karen Cadieux, whose 42-year-old son died of a carfentanil overdose in March 2025, wonders why no public safety alerts are being issued about the tainted drug supply on Edmonton streets. (CTV News Edmonton) 'Me and 86 other families have been grieving since March,' said Cadieux. 'That's a crisis. I've never seen a notice about it. I've never seen an emergency report about this contaminated drug supply. We need to do better.' The figure is up dramatically compared to other health regions in Alberta. It's also higher than lower mainland B.C.'s figure from the same month – which includes both Vancouver and Fraser Valley with triple the population size. Neither the province or police are able to explain why more carfentanil deaths are happening in Edmonton. 'The illegal drug market fluctuates, and we cannot predict specific changes in a given market to target one substance specifically,' said a statement from the press secretary for Alberta's minister of mental health and addictions. CTV Kitchener: Carfentanil found in Ontario Edmonton police staff Sgt. Marco Antonio said police have been issuing alerts about carfentanil dating back to 2017, but these 'alerts' are about drug busts, not necessarily warning the public of bad drugs circulating on the streets. 'Carfentanil, just like any fentanyl, is super dangerous,' Antonio told CTV News Edmonton. 'The risk is significantly higher based on the fact that it's 100 times stronger than regular fentanyl. Antonio adds that drug traffickers will mix carfentanil with regular fentanyl and other drugs, but they don't know how to dose it properly. 'It's not done in a lab under proper circumstances,' he said. 'It's literally done with a blender in a basement.' Family doctor Ginetta Salvalaggio who treats people with drug addictions says encampment sweeps can cause users to lose contact with suppliers they know while large drug busts may force dealers to bring in something new. 'It doesn't really matter so much what the specific agent is so much as we are dealing with a drug supply that is uncertain, that is unpredictable,' said Salvalaggio. 'It might be carfentanil today and it might be benzodiazepines or tranquilizers tomorrow. 'We need to address this ongoing contaminated supply through a bunch of evidence-based harm reduction and treatment interventions.' Angie Staines, founder of 4B Harm Reduction Society, says 'drugs will always find a way.' 'The harder you stomp down on them, the more dangerous they get,' said Staines. 'There is nothing that is going to fix this. 'We can give wraparound care, safe consumption sites, drug testing strips, but in the end, until we deal with that drug supply, people won't stop dying.' Staines and the 4B outreach team are on the ground, speaking with people who are using fentanyl. Warnings about contaminated drug supply are typically communicated through word-of-mouth. Staines said people will tell her about substances they've come across, what they look like and what effects it had on them. 'We do not have anything specific that's for the general public,' said Staines on contaminated drug supply warnings. Last year, the Government of Saskatchewan implemented its Drug Alert System that lets people know if there are concerning substances in circulation. Anyone can sign up for the notifications. The app shows images of concerning substances and locations of where they're found as well as reports of overdoses that are difficult to reverse with naloxone, multiple overdoses in a specific area, multiple deaths or ICU admissions over a short period of time and more than expected numbers of people being seen by a paramedic or in hospital within a short period of time. Sask Drug Alert Saskatchewan launched its Drug Alert System in 2024, notifying the public of unsafe supply circulating in the province. (Government of Saskatchewan) 'The Drug Alert System is now playing a critical role in providing potentially life-saving information to the general public in a coordinated, consistent and timely manner,' said a statement from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health. Before the alert system was implemented, community-based frontline service providers had expressed a need for a method of communicating with the public about emerging threats in the drug supply. No data was available to determine if deaths or overdoses had gone down. The ministry did say more than 2,000 people were subscribed to the system. All subscribers are anonymous, but may include people who use drugs, their friends or family members, frontline service providers and other concerned community members, said the ministry.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Interior Health issues region-wide drug advisory for toxic, synthetic opioid
Interior Health has issued a drug advisory for all municipalities within its boundaries. Interior Health has issued a drug advisory warning of a toxic drug circulating within its boundaries. According to a release from the health authority Monday, an increase in the detection of carfentanil, a synthetic opioid approximately 100 times more potent than fentanyl, has been noted in Down (opioid) samples over the past month. Alongside the carfentanil, the samples also frequently contained benzodiazepines and tranquilizers, the health authority said. The combination of opioids with these substances amplify the effects of the drugs and significantly heightens the risk of overdose and death. The health authority said if drugs are going to be used they should be checked first, regardless of how they are administered. Checking sites are available to be viewed online. Interior Health covers a large area in B.C. and spans 59 incorporated municipalities, stretching from the U.S. border in the south to Williams Lake in the north, and from Lytton in the west to the Alberta border in the east.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- CTV News
Edmonton police warn of increase in carfentanil on the streets
Edmonton Watch As opioid deaths in Edmonton hit a new high, police are warning about an increase in carfentanil on the streets.
CBS News
04-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Deadly opioid carfentanil reemerges in Michigan, linked to 11 deaths in 2025
Michigan health officials say the state is seeing a reemergence of the potentially deadly opioid carfentanil. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid, typically used by veterinarians to tranquilize large animals, like elephants, and is not approved for use in humans. State health officials say that so far this year, 11 deaths involving carfentanil have been identified. None of those individuals tested positive for carfentanil alone. Ten of those who died also tested for cocaine, and fentanyl was found in eight of those deaths. The deaths occurred in Ingham, Livingston, Eaton, Genesee, Oakland and Wayne counties. The synthetic drug is a small, white, powdery substance that looks like cocaine or heroin, but officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration say that using even a small amount could kill. "Imagine like a speck of baby powder; that's how much could be a lethal dosage of carfentanil," said Brian McNeal, public information officer with the DEA's Detroit division. "It is a Schedule II drug, meaning it does have medical use, but it is not approved for human use, and it has found its way into the illicit drug supply." Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and about 10,000 times more potent than morphine, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. "Carfentanil is an extremely potent and deadly drug," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan. "We're urging people who use unregulated drugs – and their loved ones – to carry naloxone, an easy to administer nasal spray that can reverse opioid overdoses and save lives. Awareness and quick action can help save lives." The DEA says some users mix carfentanil with other drugs like OxyContin or Xanax. "Whether it's heroin, marijuana, or cocaine, it follows the same routes up from our southwest border into distribution hub, like any other business, and then into smaller communities and neighborhood, but the precursor chemicals mainly come from Asia, from China, India into Mexico, where drug cartels are putting these chemicals into the illicit drug supply," McNeal said. Carfentanil was previously seen in the state in 2016 and 2017, with the drug contributing to 107 deaths in 2016 and 111 deaths in 2017. Deaths associated with the drug fell in recent years, dropping to a handful a year in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and then to zero in 2021 and 2022. Health officials say the drug can rapidly cause central nervous system depression, which can lead to quick death, and that because an increasing number of overdose deaths associated with carfentanil also include cocaine, methamphetamine and other stimulants, users may not know those drugs contain carfentanil. Treating a carfentanil overdose can also be extremely difficult, and officials say reversing an overdose may require several doses of naloxone.
