The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is sending out a warning about a dangerous drug that has made its way back to Michigan.
Carfentanil is another synthetic opioid like fentanyl but is much more potent. The drug was originally developed for veterinary use for large animals. The opioid is about 10 thousand times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
More potent drugs can produce greater effects, such as being more addictive and increasing the risk of drug usage overdose.
In previous years, Carfentanil has contributed to numerous deaths in Michigan. In 2016, the drug contributed to 107 deaths, and that number rose to 111 in 2017.
Deaths decreased between 2018 and 2022, as there were fewer than five Carfentanil-related deaths.
This year, between January and June, there have been 11 deaths involving Carfentanil that have been confirmed.
MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said the broader issue is that the supply of this drug is much more dangerous than it’s ever been before. The dosage is so small that is it is invisible to the naked eye.
“The amount is so small,” Bagdasarian said. “You don’t know what is in any sort of pill or powder that you’re buying from a non-healthcare setting.”
Bagdasarian explained that the product is going through multiple hands, which can cause a mixture of different drugs.
“So, people are buying things that are a whole mix of drugs, and they have no idea what is in those compounds or how much,” Bagdasarian said.
Bagdasarian wants the public to know about Narcan, a tool that can be used to reverse a drug overdose in case anyone finds themselves in a situation where they may need it.
The generic term for Narcan is Naloxone. It’s a nasal spray that binds to the same receptors that Carfentanil or fentanyl bind to.
“The opioids, Carfentanil and fentanyl, they actually cause what’s called respiratory depression,” Bagdasarian said. “They stop people from breathing. And these medications, Narcan and Naloxone, they get people breathing again.”
It is advised that if anyone is in danger of experiencing a drug usage overdose, use the medication by spraying the nasal two times every 2-3 minutes until the proper authorities arrive to help.
“Having this on hand can save someone’s life,” Bagdasarian said.
Bagdasarian said Michigan has reduced overdose deaths between 2023 and 2024 by 36%. Michigan is in the top five performing states in the country when it comes to reducing the effect of drug overdose deaths.
At the peak of the opioid pandemic, Michigan was losing 3,000 lives every year to drug overdose, and now the number has come down to 2,000.
“Huge improvement there, but those 2,000 people -- those are people’s loved ones,” Bagdasarian said. “Those are people’s family members, friends, parents, community members, neighbors, so we have to remember there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.”