LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas health officials and state police are warning the public about a powerful new synthetic opioid that has surfaced in the state and is linked to a deadly first-of-its-kind counterfeit pill case.
The drug, known as cyclorphine, is a synthetic opioid that Arkansas State Crime Laboratory Director and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Theodore Brown said is about 10 times more potent than fentanyl.
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Brown said the drug first came to the attention of Arkansas investigators earlier this year after a young man in Central Arkansas was found dead in his bed. White tablets discovered at the scene appeared to be oxycodone, but testing later determined the pills were counterfeit and contained cyclorphine.
“That tablet was an illicit or fake tablet, and that tablet directly caused my patient’s death, Brown said…