The elephant sedative that has ravaged Summit County since early July has found its way into the Cuyahoga County drug market.
The drug, called carfentanil, is similar to heroin but 2,500 times more potent, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson said in a news release. The drug is also 100 times more deadly than fentanyl, a heroin-like drug that has caused an increasing number of deaths in Summit County since last year.
Gilson said the death toll by heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil has “accelerated out of control.”
Cuyahoga County has had more than 300 opiate overdose deaths so far this year, according to the medical examiner.
“The detection of carfentanil here is a very disturbing development in the ongoing illegal opiate crisis,” he said. “This drug is intended for use as an anesthetic in large animals, and veterinarians take special precautions just handling it. Small amounts are rapidly fatal.”
He, like Summit County officials, warned the drug is especially dangerous because it is highly resistant to naloxone, a heroin antidote marketed as Narcan. He said carfentanil is transmissible through the skin and inhalation, so accidental exposure is a real danger.
In the month since carfentanil surfaced in Summit County, Akron authorities reported 338 overdoses — more than the 323 calls in the six months leading to its appearance. Of them, 27 died last month in Akron.