19 killed by elephant tranquilizer so potent it's used as chemical weapon

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/m/e7f9afce-3ae9-3204-b306-ca4a9625fc92/19-killed-by-elephant.html
Mashable 5 hours ago

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Dozens of people in the U.S. have died from carfentanil, a seriously potent elephant tranquilizer often cut into heroin and other street drugs, in the past few months. At least 19 have been killed in Wayne County, Michigan since July, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said Thursday. Eight more have reportedly perished in the Cincinnati area. Carfentanil is a seriously deadly substance. It's 100 times stronger than fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that killed Prince and is itself up to 50 times stronger than heroin. It's also 10,000 times stronger than morphine. It's so potent, in fact, that it was viewed as a chemical weapon before being discovered by drug dealers. And ...

 

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Chemical weapon for sale: A synthetic opioid from China that will kill heroin users

Chicago Tribune 12 hours ago

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For a few thousand dollars, Chinese companies offer to export a powerful chemical that has been killing unsuspecting drug users and is so lethal that it presents a potential terrorism threat, an Associated Press investigation has found. The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export the chemical — a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil — to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as $2,750 a kilogram, no questions asked. Carfentanil burst into view this summer, the latest scourge in an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed tens of thousands of people in the United States alone. Dealers have been cutting carfentanil ...

 

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Chinese Companies Exporting a Drug That Can Be Used as Chemical Weapon, AP Reports

Bloomberg 20 hours ago

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Shanghai (AP) -- It's one of the strongest opioids in circulation, so deadly an amount smaller than a poppy seed can kill a person. Until July, when reports of carfentanil overdoses began to surface in the U.S., the substance was best known for knocking out moose and elephants — or as a chemical weapon. Despite the dangers, Chinese vendors offer to sell carfentanil openly online, for worldwide export, no questions asked, an Associated Press investigation has found. The AP identified 12 Chinese businesses that said they would export carfentanil to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia for as little as $2,750 a kilogram. Carfentanil burst into view ...