KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — In less than a year since it was first detected, a new, deadly synthetic opioid has now been linked to more than 50 deaths across East Tennessee.
In the last six months, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center has warned about the dangers of cychlorphine, an opioid ten times stronger than fentanyl. On Tuesday, Director and Chief Administrative Officer Chris Thomas confirmed to 6 News that it has been linked to 58 overdose deaths.
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Although East Tennessee has been one of the areas that seems to have the highest number of cases involving the new drug, officials at the regional forensic center have pointed out that they were one of the first to begin testing for cychlorphine. They say the public should know that Knox County isn’t necessarily a hotspot for cychlorphine, but it is a hotspot for surveilling the drug.
“I’m not saying we’re the first to identify it, but we are the first to bring it to the public’s attention,” Thomas said while speaking with members of the Knoxville Leadership Foundation, the forensic center shared on social media…