According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, the drug responsible for hundreds of recent overdoses in Ohio is likely on its way to Kansas City.
"I haven't seen drugs that pose this much of a danger to the public,” said Troy Derby, assistant special agent in charge at the Kansas City DEA. "It's just a matter of time before we see carfentanil contained in heroin, distributed on the streets of Kansas City."
Carfentanil is a powerful animal tranquilizer used on large zoo animals such as elephants. Within the last few months, DEA agents have seen heroin diluted with the drug that’s exponentially more potent than its cousin, fentanyl, which is used as a pain killer in hospitals.
"The smallest, most minute amounts, it can kill someone,” said Derby. "It's anywhere from 50 to 100 times more potent than fentanyl, and fentanyl is anywhere from 50 to 75 times more potent than heroin is."
Cincinnati has been rocked with a recent spike of overdoses caused by carfentanil. Authorities said nearly 300 overdoses have been reported in the area since Aug. 19, including 174 over a six-day time span.
"Friday we were able to confirm we had eight deaths; we are very confident to say was due to carfentanil,” said Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco.
While Hamilton County law enforcement is asking the state to declare a public health emergency, no one knows why the spike has hit Ohio. DEA officials said they are certain the carfentanil-laced heroin is coming from China and Mexico. They also said it’s likely that dealers and users don’t know what they have until it’s too late.
"Heroin is an epidemic. Fentanyl is the plague. People don't know what they're taking. They're underestimating the deadly power of fentanyl,” said Washington D.C. DEA spokesperson Russ Baer during a phone interview Tuesday. "Two milligrams of carfentanil will kill 99 percent of the American population."
The Kansas City DEA started seeing signs of the drug coming through the area over the last few months while heroin use continues to rise.
"We've seen heroin containing fentanyl products. We intercept that here on its way to various cities in Ohio,” said Derby. "We've had more heroin seizures, more arrests related to those distributing heroin, which is indicative that we have a greater population of people utilizing heroin."
Sammarco referred to the Cincinnati area as a “test tube” by heroin dealers regarding the powerful animal tranquilizer. The DEA believes illegal drug manufacturers are cutting the heroin with the drug because it can produce exponentially more product while giving users a more powerful high without a higher price.
"Because it's cut with a carfentanil, they feel like that's good advertisement for them. Then in reality the users have no idea that the heroin they think they're purchasing contains any type of a fentanyl product,” said Derby.
First responders often use Narcan (Naloxone) to revive those who have overdosed on heroin. However, because carfentanil is such a powerful drug, the life-saving antidote is often useless.
“The Narcan that's utilized to, so to speak, bring heroin addicts who have over-dosed back to life, it's not always effective,” said Derby.
Derby also said that carfentanil is transdermal, so it can be absorbed through the skin.
"You could overdose just by touching it or accidentally inhaling it,” he said.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
