Maine Police Warning Of Highly Potent Opioid

SANFORD, Maine (AP) -- Maine police are warning of a new synthetic opioid that's far more powerful than drugs that are currently being used by addicts.

Sanford police said W-18 appears as a white powder that looks like heroin or fentanyl, but it's 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

The drug is similar to a drug used to tranquilize large animals, such as bears and elephants.

Sanford Police Chief Thomas Connolly says the drug is already present in New England. Officials say two out of eight W-18 heroin overdoses in Massachusetts last weekend were fatal.