Elephant tranquilizer carfentanil to blame in at least 8 deaths - CNN.com
▻http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/06/health/carfentanil-deaths-ohio
Carfentanil, a sedative for large animals, was the cause of at least eight overdose deaths in Hamilton County, Ohio, coroner Dr. Lakshmi Kode Sammarco said Tuesday.
Sammarco added that they are waiting on blood and urine tests from five more overdose deaths which she is confident “will also be due to carfentanil.”
The most potent opioid commercially available
Carfentanil is the most potent opioid used commercially, 10,000 times stronger than morphine. It is a version or analogue of fentanyl, the painkiller that most recently made headlines as the cause of the the accidental overdose death of pop star Prince.
Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid and can slow breathing significantly. It’s not approved for human use, but is used commercially to sedate large animals, such as elephants. As little as 2 milligrams can knock out an African elephant weighing nearly 2,000-pounds.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, users might not know they are even taking the drug, as dealers have been cutting heroin with fentanyl to give it a boost and stretch their supply. Dealers are also using it to make counterfeit pills. Between 2013-2014, there were 700 fentanyl related deaths. Officials believe it is helping fuel the opioid and heroin crisis.
