COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWK) – Across the United States, officials are sounding the alarm on carfentanil, an extremely potent synthetic opioid. It is reported to be 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times more powerful than fentanyl.

“Carfentanil’s emergence in the illegal drug market within the U.S. is alarming,” the Drug Enforcement Agency stated in a release. “Given the drug’s extreme potency, it could significantly increase the risk of overdoses and deaths, even among those accustomed to opioids. Furthermore, the substance poses a severe risk to first responders and law enforcement who might inadvertently encounter it.”

In Ohio, there’s a noticeable rise in drug samples containing various substances, with experts particularly concerned about the uptick in carfentanil instances.

Experts from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) warn that carfentanil not only poses a grave health risk but also jeopardizes public safety.

In 2025, BCI reported identifying over 199 items containing carfentanil, a figure surpassing the total found in the past four to five years combined, highlighting the urgency of the situation.

“There were a little over 1,200 samples in 2017, so we’re not quite there yet, but well above the 30 to 40 we’ve seen the last couple,” said Jessica Toms, laboratory manager at BCI.

Carfentanil is used as an animal tranquilizer for elephants and other large animals, according to the DEA.

An amount as small as the tip of a pencil can be lethal. Officials say it’s often manufactured overseas and shipped into the U.S., where it appears in tablet and powder form in various colors.

The BCI says the substance has been found in 46 counties across Ohio and in surrounding states, typically mixed with cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, making it extremely toxic when combined.

“When I first started out in drug chemistry testing evidence here at BCI, drug items that we were testing only had one substance in it. You had cocaine, it was cocaine, and you had heroin, it was heroin,” Toms said. “And now it’s not uncommon to see five or six different drugs that are mixed together. The most I think we’ve had is 12 different controlled substances in one sample.”

Pharmaceutical and health leaders warn that the surge in lab-made drugs like carfentanil is fueling overdoses and deaths across the Ohio region. They urge the public to be aware of the dangers of drug use and to carry resources such as narcan to help prevent fatal overdoses.