An Overdose First For Chicago: A Drug 10,000 Times Stronger Than Morphine
(CBS) -- The Cook County Medical Examiner has linked two overdoses to something not seen here before, including one drug that is up to 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
WBBM's Michele Fiore reports.
Fetanyl analogs are a growing problem in Cook County, but the latest two types have not been discovered here until now.
The Cook County Medical Examiner says a 35-year-old Lake Zurich man and a 46-year-old man on Chicago's west side overdosed, one from Carfentanil and the other from 3Methylfentanyl.
Dr. Timothy Lubenow at Rush University Medical Center says Carfentanil, which is commonly used by veterinarians to immobilize large animals, is 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
3Methylfentanyl is reportedly four times as strong as morphine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year.