Local officers were instructed to send any substances that look like heroin to the laboratory for testing, rather than conduct field tests, as carfentanil is often mistaken for heroin and can be lethal even when absorbed through the skin.
“It’s been here for a little while,” said Madison County Drug Task Force Commander Bob Mott, according to the Register. “I’m wondering if we haven’t had it for longer than we think.”
Carfentanil, which is designed to sedate large animals like elephants, was recently linked to several clusters of opioid overdoses and deaths in areas like Ohio hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
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