Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich warns of deadly fentanyl-like drugs linked to overdose deaths in the first week of 2021.
Cvitanovich says fentanyl variants, carfentanil and para-fluorofentanyl resulted in recent overdose deaths in Jefferson Parish.
Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It is commonly used as an elephant tranquilizer. Para-fluorofentayl is similar to fentanyl but is lesser-known than its carfentanyl counterpart but just as deadly.
Both drugs can resemble powdered cocaine or heroin and can be ingested via snorting, oral pills, or IV injection.
“The presence of these drugs in Jefferson Parish and the surrounding parishes is cause for concern given their relative strength and the potential for an increase in overdoses and overdose-related deaths, even among opioid-tolerant users,” said a coroner’s office report. “These drugs are usually sold to users that think they are getting heroin or fentanyl. The public and law enforcement should be on full alert due to the extreme danger of these very highly potent and potentially deadly drugs.”
The report says since last December there have been 16 overdose deaths due to these synthetic opioids.
