CDC warns of new drug more deadly than fentanyl

A more potent form of fentanyl is contributing to the thousands of overdose deaths that happen every year, health officials warn.

An extremely powerful derivative of fentanyl, called carfentanil, was detected in 513 overdose deaths between 2021 and early 2024, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Carfentanil was designed to tranquilize large animals and is estimated to be 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl.  

Just 2 milligrams is needed to tranquilize an elephant; that same amount is powerful enough to kill 50 people, according to a Department of Veteran Affairs report.

Drug overdose deaths overall have been declining since 2023, according to the CDC. But they remain high in the United States, and the majority are connected to illegally manufactured fentanyls (IMFs).

Carfentanil-related overdose deaths are becoming less rare, highlighting the “ever-changing illegal drug supply” that threatens the progress made in reducing overdose deaths, according to the report.

The number of deaths with carfentanil detected was low between January 2021 and June 2023, less than 30 per six-month period, according to the report.  

But overdose deaths connected to carfentanil spiked in the latter half of 2023, jumping from 29 to 175 by December — a roughly 503 percent increase.  

Carfentanil-related deaths continued to rise this year, with a total of 238 people dying from the drug by June — a roughly 720 percent increase from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024.

The rate of overdose deaths linked to IMFs has remained relatively stable over the past three years in most parts of the country; they were detected in roughly 70 percent to 80 percent of overdose deaths between 2021 and 2024 in the Northeast, Midwest and South.

IMFs have steadily become more common in overdose deaths in Western states. The portion of overdose deaths in the West linked to IMF rose from 48.5 percent in 2021 to 66.5 percent by the first half of 2024.