BCI reports continued uptick in carfentanil seizures
Ohio Attorney General
COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is urging caution as new data from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation shows a continued rise in drug seizures involving carfentanil and other deadly synthetic opioids.
“The amateur chemists who create these deadly drug combinations don’t care if you live or die,” Yost said. “Here’s the deal: If you take drugs that weren’t prescribed by your doctor, you risk lethal exposure to synthetic opioids.”
Through the first three quarters of 2025, BCI forensic scientists have identified carfentanil in 199 items submitted to the bureau’s laboratory for testing.
Carfentanil’s presence peaked in Ohio in 2017, when BCI identified it in 1,119 drug samples. Despite a sharp decrease in its prevalence in recent years – carfentanil was confirmed in nine samples in 2023 and 40 in 2024 – the uptick noted by BCI earlier this year is spreading.
The 199 items found to contain carfentanil so far this year encompass samples from 46 Ohio counties. The drug’s highest prevalence has been in central and northwestern Ohio, with a more recent increase noted in southern Ohio counties.
Carfentanil is a lethal synthetic opioid about 100 times more potent than fentanyl and about 10,000 times more potent than morphine. An analog of fentanyl, carfentanil is not approved for use in humans but is used by veterinarians to anesthetize elephants and other large animals.
Carfentanil can be found alone or in complex mixtures with fentanyl, xylazine, para-fluorofentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and/or ketamine. The opioid comes in several forms (powder, compressed solid materials, tablets and liquid) and colors (white, off-white, brown, tan, green, light blue and purple).
A new threat: N-propionitrile chlorphine
The BCI lab recently identified a new opioid compound in Ohio, N-propionitrile chlorphine, also known as cychlorphine. The compound is a rare synthetic opioid with effects similar to fentanyl.
The drug was seized at the scene of a non-fatal overdose in the Butler County city of Fairfield. Several doses of Narcan were needed to revive the individual, according to first responders. The substance – a tan powder – also contained fentanyl and xylazine.
N-propionitrile chlorphine is an emerging drug that has not been identified frequently in seized drug samples in Ohio or the United States. Other occurrences, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, include a July 2025 overdose in Tennessee and an April 2024 drug seizure in Florida.
To date, the BCI lab has evaluated roughly 65 distinct fentanyl compounds.
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