Deadly New Opioid Sold Online, DuPage Coroner Warns of Dangers

WHEATON, IL — DuPage County Coroner Dr. Richard Jorgensen has some serious words of warning about a new opioid that’s already claimed 44 lives in Chicago this year. Users can by acrylfentanyl, a designer version of fentanyl, online. Jorgensen told ABC 7, “sadly [acrylfentanyl] takes a really strong opioid and makes it even stronger.”

The easy availability of acrylfentanyl adds to its allure, but the drug’s biggest danger is that it’s often resistant to the life-saving antidote, Naloxone. Naloxone, or Narcan, is usually effective in saving heroin users from overdose. With acrylfentanyl, the DEA and medical experts suggest that an overdose could require up to four times the amount of Narcan to revive an overdose victim. There’s still the chance of Naoloxone being completely ineffective.

ABC 7 reported that one YouTube station sells both pill and powder versions of acrylfentanyl, with a price tag of $35 per gram. The catch is there is a minimum order of 25 grams, an extremely deadly amount for a user to take or a dealer to sell.

According to ABC 7, Chicago DEA officer Dennis Witchern compared acrylfentanyl to “Russian Roulette.” A haunting reminder of the ongoing opioid epidemic that threatens to claim even more lives.

>>More via ABC 7

>>Image credit: By eric molina from New York City, United States [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons