STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Experts on Staten Island and nationwide are warning that drug traffickers are mixing potentially lethal fentanyl with veterinary sedatives — including one powerful enough to immobilize elephants.
Illicit fentanyl, an opioid that, by itself, is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, remains a factor in the majority of accidental drug overdoses on Staten Island, in New York City and throughout the United States. The synthetic opioid is potentially deadly at a mere 2 milligrams, an amount that fits on the head of a pencil.
Officials are warning about the growing use of veterinary drugs, often combined with fentanyl and other opioids…