LYNCHBURG, VA – First responders in Lynchburg are warning the public about a new drug that has hit the streets there.
It's called carfentanil. It's a synthetic opioid that, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, is 150 times more powerful than heroin, making it the most deadly drug of its kind.
Capt. Chris Adams was working to ready the ambulance Tuesday. It had just been used earlier to respond to another overdose call.
"From what we're seeing in Lynchburg and how these folks are presenting, it's nothing like we've seen before," said Adams.
Adams says, the majority of calls his squad gets are standard overdoses, but in the past 10 days, they've received three to five that they believe to be from the drug carfentanil.
"Some of our northern states have been dealing with this stuff for some time. We didn't have any idea it had made it down here," said Adams.
Adams says toxicology tests aren't back yet, but they know this drug is stronger because of how difficult it is to treat the patients.
"It's taking excessive amounts of Narcan to do the effect, or have the effect that we would normally have," said Adams.
Narcan is the lifesaving drug that most emergency responders are equipped with nowadays, but Adams says because of carfentanil's strength, it can take up to 10 times the amount of Narcan to revive them.
"This stuff is used to tranquilize large animals," said Adams.
The DEA says carfentanil and the less-potent fentanyl are often disguised as Heroin, but they have quickly become Virginia's deadliest drugs, responsible for more than 600 deaths last year.
"Three granules of this substance, that's the size of a grain of salt, is actually deadly," said Adams.
Carfentanil is so deadly, it can cause an overdose merely by contacting exposed skin. In addition to Lynchburg, WSLS has received reports of fentanyl overdose cases in Amherst County, Bedford County, and Franklin County.
"From the public's standpoint, again, everyone needs to understand that this is serious," said Adams.
He says he wants everyone to know how dangerous the drug is before they even think about using it.