Carfentanil Seizure Brings Opioid Epidemic to Houston

Style Magazine Newswire | 6/30/2017, 9:05 a.m.
The Houston Forensic Science Lab says a drug seized on June 7th — field-tested as methamphetamine — turned out to …

Source: Houston Public Media

The Houston Forensic Science Lab says a drug seized on June 7th — field-tested as methamphetamine — turned out to be carfentanil. Dr. Peter Stout with the crime lab held up a tiny baggie as an example. A lethal dose could be as little as 20 micrograms. That’s a problem for police officers and EMTs. If it gets on your finger and you touch your mouth or eyes, it can kill you. Fentanil and the more powerful Carfentanil are sometimes pressed into pills to look like vicodin or xanax. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says police are receiving special training. Better masks are being purchased for first responders. Narcotics officers now carry the antidote Narcan. Mayor Sylvester Turner says the city will find the dollars to equip more officers with the antidote.

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