Pennsylvania Officials Warn: Drug Kills In Doses Smaller Than Snowflake

State officials have issued an urgent warning after a lethal drug took the lives of two Pennsylvanians recently.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Karen Murphy and Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis on Tuesday issued the warning on carfentanil, a synthetic opioid intended to sedate large animals that is linked to two overdose deaths in Beaver County.

Officials say the drug is not only dangerous for the people who take it but also for anyone who comes into contact with it.

“Carfentanil is intended to sedate large animals and is not meant for humans – it can potentially kill anyone who comes into contact with it,” Murphy said. “It’s absolutely essential that first responders, health professionals, and family members and friends of individuals with substance use disorder educate themselves about carfentanil to avoid accidental overdoses. First responders should utilize appropriate personal protective equipment when treating known or suspected carfentanil overdoses.”

First responders and health professionals who treat someone suspected of taking the drug should use "extreme caution," the warning said.

“Because carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that is much more potent and deadly than morphine and fentanyl, it could lead to increases in cluster overdoses and deaths,” Murphy said. “It poses significant threats to those who may be using opioids as well as others who may come into contact with it.”

According to state officials, carfentanil is absorbed through skin contact, inhalation, oral exposure or ingestion and can lead to an accidental drug poisoning.

It can come in several forms, including powder, blotter paper, tablets, patch and spray. It is also mixed with heroin or used as a heroin substitute, officials say.

It can kill within minutes, Tennis said, noting it is essential that first responders be equipped with Narcan, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses.

“With a drug as powerful as carfentanil, you may have just minutes to save the life of a person who may be overdosing," he said in the warning statement.

Police officers across Pennsylvania have already saved more than 2,200 lives with Narcan, he noted.