A new drug, thought to be ten times stronger than morphine, is going round on the streets of New Hampshire.
The street drug, called Carfentanil, is a powerful new opioid which has already claimed three lives.
Originally engineered for use as an elephant tranquilizer, the 20 microgram dosage can have fatal consequences just being sprinkled on someone’s skin.
Manchester Fire’s EMS Director Chris Hickey said:
Residents must be hyper, hyper vigilant of what is out there, hyper vigilant of where you put your hands, what you come in contact with.
There is nothing out there other than going in in hazmat suits on every single overdose that is going to completely protect us. We just have to be super, super careful with it.
The drug usually used to revers overdoses, Narcan, is barely working on those who have taken Carfentanil.
One of Hickey’s men had to use six to eight doses of Narcan to revive a victim, and they are warning that if it stop working, there is little else they can do.
There is an opioid epidemic across numerous states in America, and in March this year, CDC director Thomas Frieden declared that ‘America is awash with opioids; urgent action is crucial’.
President Donald Trump plans to set aside $500 million in this year’s budget to combat opioid addiction.
