Sheriffs warn of cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid 10 times stronger than fentanyl
By Rian Stockett
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Western North Carolina sheriffs are warning the public about a new synthetic drug they say is more potent than fentanyl.
The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning about cychlorphine on its social media accounts on Wednesday, April 15, saying it’s been linked to multiple overdose deaths in eastern Tennessee.
The drug is also on the radar of other local counties.
Captain Justin Bell with the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office said the danger of cychlorphine is similar to that of other synthetic opioids.
“The biggest message that we would like to get out is that it’s like other synthetic opioids that the most dangerous part is that they can be easily placed into other substances that the user may not know that they’re ingesting,” said Captain Bell.
The Facebook post from the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office says cychlorphine is up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl.
Captain Bell says that because it’s much more potent than fentanyl, smaller amounts can be deadly. He said that a cychlorphine overdose would also require more doses of Narcan to combat it.
Although they’re warning people about this opioid, Bell said authorities haven’t seen it in Transylvania County yet.
News 13 asked them about their efforts to prevent it from coming into the county. “We recognize that you can’t arrest this problem away, OK? So, it’s more about education, hopefully response and saving lives, and getting the word out there,” said Bell.
He says they learned about this drug from their narcotics task force which he says works with local, state, and federal partners to identify emerging drugs early, share intelligence across agencies, track where these substances are coming from and target and disrupt trafficking networks.
“Our approach to it is to make them aware that this is out here, that an exposure may be more significant, and to prepare them with products like the training in Narcan to counteract those reactions to the drug,” said Bell.
The state crime lab says it hasn’t seen any deaths in North Carolina caused by cychlorphine, however it’s prepared to test for it if needed.
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