COURT HOUSE – Carfentanil, a synthetic opioid seized in a drug raid in Cape May County in August, has only been linked to one death in the county so far, but its dangers far outweigh its brief history here, authorities say.
The highly potent drug, first seen by authorities in Cape May in mid-August, has no medical use for people but has shown up in counterfeit prescription pills or in powdered form, resembling cocaine or heroin. Unsuspecting customers might unknowingly ingest, inhale or inject carfentanil, with disastrous consequences.
Two milligrams is generally enough to knock out a rhinoceros, but could easily be fatal to a human being.
Police busted a drug dealer in the Green Creek section of Middle Township in August, seizing what they thought was 3,300 bags, or “folds,” of heroin, only to find after laboratory analysis that what they had was carfentanil, used to tranquilize large animals.
“Carfentanil is a tranquilizer for elephants,” Cape May County Prosecutor Jeff Sutherland said.
Sutherland said fentanyl, which was considered the strongest stuff around, was designed as a topical rub to be absorbed through the skin. He said carfentanil is like that, but is much more powerful than fentanyl; his laboratory director says current research indicates it is 20 to 30 times more powerful than fentanyl.
The prosecutor went on to say carfentanil is 5,000 times more powerful than heroin and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.
One of the differences between the carfentail used in a zoo setting or laboratory and the street version of carfentanil is the manner of manufacturing.
“These (street drugs) are not made by skilled chemists,” Sutherland said. “I don’t want to imply anything is safe.”
People looking for a cheap high might only have to pay $6 to $10 for a fold of powder that can be anything from heroin to fentanyl to carfentanil. Sutherland also said carfentanil might appear as a counterfeit oxycontin tablet, which might sell for $30.
The prosecutor said the dangers of some of these street drugs have pushed some people to buy pills, thinking that is the safer route. He said his office has learned that the street drug makers are mixing fentanyl and carfentanil with other elements and forming counterfeit pills in pill presses.
“It might look like oxycontin, but it’s important to note that it could easily be carfentanil,” he said.
Sutherland said there are three confirmed cases in the county in which carfentanil was involved, with other cases awaiting toxicology results, but added that there have been multiple overdoses in the county that could have been from carfentanil. There is one confirmed carfentanil fatal overdose case in the county as of now.
“Essentially, it’s a game of Russian roulette to use something off the streets,” he said.
Sutherland said his office is fortunate to have its own lab and a skilled set of chemists. Ken Hand, director of the lab, said in an email that current research suggests carfentanil is 20 to 30 times more potent than fentanyl.
Hand said the risk of overdose is higher with carfentanil, as it may cause a longer duration of respiratory depression or impairment, and cause other vital organ dysfunction with a greater risk of death.
“Multiple doses of Narcan will likely be required,” Hand wrote in the email.
He said there are no approved human uses for the drug, and there is no reliable scientific literature that indicates a fatal human dose. However, he said, considering the adage “The dose makes the poison,” quantities of less than a microgram might “pose an adverse health event.” Only a few milligrams are needed to sedate a white rhinoceros.
Hand said the carfentanil used as a large animal tranquilizer is only produced in DEA-licensed laboratories. On the other hand, cartels and overseas chemical companies can easily produce the drug with little effort or expense.
The molecular structure of carfentanil is closely related to fentanyl’s, but the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of a few atoms and chemical bonds on certain molecular frameworks often creates vast differences in a drug’s potency and ability to produce results.
“This is a cornerstone of drug discovery but when applied to street drugs, the presence of such compounds bedevils our efforts to curb overdoses and reduce harm,” Hand wrote. “We are in a game of whack-a-mole, with increasingly potent and unexpected multidrug mixtures available from the drug dealer whose customer is unwittingly consuming.”
In the most recent overdose case in the county in which carfentanil was identified, it was not the carfentanil alone but rather the drug mixed with fentanyl and other compounds – all of which amplify the effects of the others.
“Combining fentanyl and carfentanil for human use is plain and simple poisoner-practice,” Hand said.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
