PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (EYT) — The Philadelphia division of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration recently published its 2017 bulletin which outlines carfentanil indicators across Pennsylvania.

Carfentanil is a Schedule II synthetic opioid — typically used as an animal tranquilizer for large animals — and is approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It has been linked to several overdose deaths across the country.

Carfentanil was first identified in Pennsylvania’s illicit drug supply in September of 2016 after being found in both drug seizures and overdose deaths.

Carfentanil and other fentanyl-related substances have emerged as a significant drug threat in Pennsylvania, with sharp increases in overdose deaths associated since 2015. This analysis was based on data obtained from the National Forensic Lab Information System, originally reported by seven law enforcement laboratories in Pennsylvania.

Carfentanil seizures have been identified in 22 Pennsylvania counties, and are widely scattered across the Commonwealth.

Seizures include four each in Jefferson and Blair Counties and two each in Butler, McKean, Fayette, and Washington Counties.

Allegheny County led the Commonwealth with 20 carfentanil seizures while Delaware had 11, Beaver nine, and Philadelphia seven.

Chester, Mifflin, and Lycoming Counties had six each. Erie had three.

“It says to me that we need to be more vigilant in our counties so that people understand the possibility of overdosing if they are using these drugs,” said Carrie Bence, the Deputy Director of the Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission.

“Carfentanil isn’t just being used in heroin, it’s being used in cutting cocaine, too.”

“People need to pay attention to this and we need to continue to make sure that our first responders are aware of the risks that are associated with fentanyl and carfentanil.”

The use of carfentanil wasn’t recorded in Venango County, echoing what Oil City Police Chief Bob Wenner said in November.

“I have no information of it being in the county,” Wenner said. “We haven’t heard from confidential informants of its use or seen any instances of its use.”

“I’d be very happy if it passes us by,” Wenner said. “It is possible that it’s been used in the county, but if someone used Narcan to reverse an overdose and didn’t report it or didn’t have to be hospitalized, we wouldn’t know.”

According to the DEA report, carfentanil typically arrives into the United States via mail services from source countries such as China. It has been identified in powder, pill, and liquid form. In Pennsylvania, the majority of carfentanil exhibits were in powder form (62 percent).

In addition, more than 85 carfentanil-positive overdose deaths have been reported in 13 Pennsylvania counties in 2017 (Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Centre, Chester, Crawford, Dauphin, Erie, Fayette, Lehigh, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Somerset).

It is possible that additional carfentanil-related deaths have occurred in Pennsylvania but were not identified due to insufficient toxicology testing.

The introduction of carfentanil into the illicit drug supply presents an increased danger to first responders and drug users.

While carfentanil did show up in toxicology reports in 2017, fentanyl, heroin, benzodiazepines, cocaine, and prescription opioids are still the biggest causes of drug overdose deaths in Pennsylvania last year.

According to a report on www.overdosefreepa.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DEA-Analysis-of-Overdose-Deaths-in-Pennsylvania-2016.pd_-1.pdf, there were 2,386 deaths attributed to fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and non-prescription synthetic opioids in 2016.

There were 2,089 overdose deaths attributed to heroin, while benzos were related to 1,541 deaths, cocaine was attributed to 1,257 deaths, 1,181 for prescription opioids, and 917 for ethanol.