Read more about Apple Legacy Contacts on the Apple Support website.
McDowell Country Sheriff’s Department: Apple Legacy Contact
Category: PSA
More potent than fentanyl? 5 things to know about the illicit drug cychlorphine
Read the original article on the Ploitifact website.
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
- Cychlorphine is a lab-made opioid that laboratory tests found to be more potent than fentanyl.
- Health officials warn that the drug has been found in illicit drugs, including powders and counterfeit pills made to look like prescription medications.
- Cychlorphine’s strength can increase the risks of overdosing.
After years of fentanyl causing fatal overdoses, public officials are now warning of an even more powerful opioid.
After years of fentanyl causing fatal overdoses, public officials are now warning of an even more powerful opioid.
Cychlorphine (sy-KLOR-feen) is a synthetic, or lab-made, opioid — specifically, a class of drugs known as orphines. Created by researchers who were trying to find powerful painkillers in the 1960s, orphines were ultimately considered too strong and dangerous, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration never approved cychlorphine for medical use.
Cychlorphine is a Schedule I drug that cannot be possessed or sold under federal law, but it has been increasingly linked to overdoses after China banned synthetic opioids called nitazenes.
People who track illicit drugs in the United States first identified cychlorphine in the drug supply in 2024, and Reddit users were talking about it online that same year. The drug is now making headlines in connection with U.S. overdose deaths.
It was linked to a 16-year-old’s death in San Francisco in April. And in Knoxville, Tennessee, officials said cychlorphine had been detected in about 50 suspected overdose deaths from July 2025 to early June.
Officials in Louisiana and Los Angeles County have issued public alerts warning residents of its risks as well.
How prevalent is cychlorphine in the U.S.?
In 2024, there was one report of cychlorphine in the U.S. drug supply, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In 2025, there were 16 reports of it in 10 states.
Nationally, orphines don’t currently appear to be widespread, but “prevalence and trends are hard to discern,” said Jason R. Williams, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute.
Hospitals and medical examiners’ toxicology tests and even crime labs sometimes fail to detect any given drug until it becomes a substance that officials are interested in tracking or collecting data on, he said.
The National Drug Control Policy office said it is currently most prevalent in Ohio, Texas and Tennessee.
Following a fatal overdose in Los Angeles County, public health officials there warnedthat cychlorphine is being mixed into the illicit drug supply without people’s knowledge. It has been found in powders, rocks or crystals, liquids and counterfeit pills made to look like prescription medications, they said.
How strong is cychlorphine?
The Drug Enforcement Administration describes fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that is approved for medical use — as about 100 times more potent than morphine.
Laboratory tests show cychlorphine is about 10 times more potent than fentanyl, said Alex Krotulski, director of toxicology and chemistry at the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education.
“That’s the only data that we have right now,” Krotulski said in July. Fentanyl has been studied in humans, but cychlorphine has not been studied in humans or animals, he said. “So we’re really finding out in real time what its effects on humans are.”
The drug’s potential effect on a person, however, depends on the dose, not just the cychlorphine’s potency.
National Prescription Take Back Day is October 24
Read the original article on the City of Raleigh website.
Join the Raleigh Police Department and Substance Use Advisory Commission in addressing the drug overdose epidemic by participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription Take Back Day.
Safely dispose of your unneeded or expired prescription and over-the counter medications at the local pharmacies listed below. This is a free service and no questions will be asked.
When? Saturday, October 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where? Visit either one of the participating locations below.
- Falls River Pharmacy, 10930 Raven Ridge Rd, Suite 109, Raleigh NC
- Wegmans,1200 Wake Towne Dr, Raleigh NC
Safeguard your community’s safety and health by responsibly disposing of unneeded medication!
PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT: INCREASE IN SUSPECTED OVERDOSE DEATHS IN ROBESON COUNTY
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Fentanyl Awareness & Safety
The Fayetteville Police Department is urging our community to stay informed about the dangers of fentanyl a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
A lethal dose of fentanyl can be as small as 2 milligrams—roughly the size of a few grains of salt.
All school buses in Nash County to be equipped emergency overdose kits, district says
The district said the investment, which is around $21,435.60, was made possible through the support of the county, the Nash County Board of Commissioners, the Nash County Opioid Settlement Advisory Council and the C.A.R.E. Coalition.
Naloxone is a medication used to reverse the effects of a drug overdose when administered quickly. It comes in two main forms: an injection and a nasal spray. Each school bus will have one ONEbox that contains naloxone and simple video instructions to guide people to use it in an emergency.
“Equipping all 115 Nash County Public School buses with life-saving naloxone and ONEbox overdose response kits demonstrates proactive leadership and a deep investment in protecting children and families across our county,” the district’s transportation leaders said. “This initiative is not just about preparation; it is about prevention, awareness, and ensuring that life-saving tools are accessible when seconds matter most.”
Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners. Interim Nash Couty Health Director Liz Lord, who wasn’t invovled in the school bus rollout, said it’s important to make sure the kits are in place as soon as possible.
“Hopefully, they’ll never crack one open on a bus, but if they do need one, it’s there,” Lord said.
The expansion into Nash County schools marks further expansion to make naloxone available for students in recent years. In 2024, the Wake County Public School System approved a plan to train staff on administering naloxone, and student groups across the state have asked state leaders to have wellness teams ready to intervene when they see a problem.
Michael Baier, the school district’s director of transportation, said the investment helps him make sure that every child gets to and from school safely.
“We are extremely thankful for Nash County’s support in making this possible,” Baier said. “By equipping all 115 buses with Naloxone and ONEbox kits, we are strengthening our emergency preparedness and reinforcing our commitment to protecting the students entrusted to our care.”
Nash County Public Schools took time to train bus drivers around the district to make sure they know how to use the kits. In 2025, the county provided training to 132 bus drivers and monitors in the district on recognizing the warning signs of an overdose and how to properly administer Naloxone.
Ayone Cooper, a parent with three kids in the school district, said she’s split on the decision. While she sees the benefits of having naloxone on hand, she worries the overdose reversal drug could encourage risky behavior in some children.
“It’s just like you look at it as a child that has an allergy, you know, you want an EpiPen, you want to have access to that EpiPen, and you want to save that child’s life,” Cooper said. “If this were to happen on a school bus, what would we do? We want to save that child’s life.”
18 arrested in Carteret “Operation Find Out” drug crackdown
Read the original article on the Carteret County News-Times website.
CARTERET COUNTY — Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck announced the arrest of 18 suspects that are facing 146 felony charges in round one of “Operation Find Out.” According to Buck, the arrests were the result of a months-long operation by the sheriff’s office carried out through undercover purchases, with charges ranging from possession to trafficking.
Buck said the arrests have come with bond amounts as high as $10 million. At least 30 more suspects will be arrested as part of the operation in the coming weeks, he said during a Wednesday press conference.
“The message is clear – sell drugs in Carteret County and you’ll find out,” Buck said. ”You’ll find out that you’ll be arrested, taken to jail, and likely depending on your charges given a high bond to keep you in jail. You’ll be strictly prosecuted and many of you will ultimately find yourselves serving prison time.”
Buck said his team of detectives has done “tremendous work” in taking drug dealers off the streets. He said Carteret County District Attorney Matt Wareham and Assistant District Attorney David Spence have also been critical partners in their efforts.
“The work they have done over the years has made a major impact on our county and our work continues,” Buck said.
Wareham warned that the DA’s office will seek tough sentences for drug-related crimes.
“To those folks who sell drugs, who traffic in drugs, who live off others misery, we will prosecute you. We will seek tough enforcement, we will seek long prison sentences,” Wareham remarked.
Buck noted that Carteret County leads the state in prosecuting death by distribution cases.
“If you want to go to prison for killing someone over something as stupid, foolish and needless as selling dope, then keep on and find out,” Buck commented.
Buck noted that drug overdose deaths in Carteret County have fallen from 36 in 2020 to only five this year.
“We were having a terrible problem with Fentanyl for some time, and it seems like we’re not dealing with as much as we had been in the past,” he said.
For those addicted to drugs, Buck said the county is willing to offer help.
Brooke Lane, who heads up the Carteret County Post Overdose Response Team, echoed Buck’s remarks.
“There is help out there. You don’t have to end up in our county jail, you don’t have to end up part of this operation,” she commented.
From revival to recovery: Some paramedics are changing the front line of addiction care
Read the original article on the North Carolina Health News website.
By Rachel Crumpler
A life lost in Buncombe County in 2022 still weighs on — and motivates — Shuchin Shukla, a family physician who specializes in addiction medicine.
A community paramedic had responded to an overdose involving a person recently released from jail. After reviving them, the paramedic told the patient about a soon-to-launch program that would start people on a medication used to treat opioid addiction after an overdose.
“That would be amazing if you had it now, I would like to start now,” the patient said, according to a shift note of the encounter.
But the program was still 10 days from launch.
Soon after, the person used again, experienced a second overdose and went into cardiac arrest. They later died at the hospital.
“For the team working on this, the case hit home that every moment of every day matters for patients. At any minute, they’re at risk of dying or having an overdose,” Shukla said. “That’s how critical this is.”
For months, Shukla had been working with Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services to launch Buncombe Bridge to Care, a project to equip paramedics to administer buprenorphine — a medication proven to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, reduce cravings and support long-term recovery for people with opioid use disorder — when responding to overdoses or others in the community struggling with addiction.
Continue reading “From revival to recovery: Some paramedics are changing the front line of addiction care”“Every life is worth saving”: How a UNC researcher’s website is connecting communities to naloxone
Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL News website.
Delesha Carpenter’s personal tragedy has fueled her mission to combat opioid overdoses through increased naloxone access. Her new website with UNC maps naloxone availability across NC’s 100 counties.
Delesha Carpenter began her career as a researcher focused on pediatrics. A little over seven years ago, her path took an unexpected turn following the deaths of two close friends.
“A lot of people who get into this field, it’s personal,” Carpenter said. “I lost two friends within two weeks of each other to opioid overdoses. That really inspired me to increase access to naloxone.”
The researcher and professor with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy recently launched NalxoneNearMe.org. The website features an interactive map of all 100 North Carolina counties, rating them based on the number of naloxone distribution services available.
Durham County is tied with Mecklenburg County as the highest rated counties on the map with a score of 88. Wake County wasn’t far behind with a score of 77.
Carpenter told WRAL the Naloxone Availability Scores are based on the level of availability of no-cost naloxone and pharmacies that sell naloxone in each county.
Naloxone distribution resources are categorized into 14 types, including syringe service programs, EMS, harm reduction organizations, health departments, pharmacies and healthcare providers.
“The highest score a county can receive is 100, which would mean that all 14 naloxone sources included in the Naloxone Availability Score are present in that county,” Carpenter explained. “If a county had one harm reduction program in the county, they would get the same amount of ‘credit’ toward the score as a county that had two or three reduction programs.”
Increased naloxone use and availability are among the efforts researchers say have contributed to a reduction in opioid overdose deaths in recent years.
WRAL investigated how the medication works when taking viewers inside the human body to reveal the way naloxone fights against opioid overdoses.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 41,500 North Carolinians died from overdoses between 2000-2023.
As of the latest data available from 2024, overdose deaths decreased by approximately 32% from the year prior.
“One thing is everybody’s life is worth saving. It is important to carry naloxone, especially if you’re going to be in situations where people are going to be using drugs, you never know what is in the drugs that you’re using,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter said increasing the availability of medications for opioid use, such as buprenorphine and methadone, would also help reduce overdose fatalities.
“Other resources that people should be aware of, and one that’s linked on our website, is Naloxone Saves. Ours tells you what types of sources are available, but you can go to the Naloxone Saves website and find the actual pharmacies that carry and stock naloxone, or find your health department and whether it’s distributing naloxone,” Carpenter added.
Naloxone will not harm someone who hasn’t taken an opioid, so it is recommended even when it is unclear what kind of drug a person has taken.
More than one dose may be needed because some opioids, like fentanyl, can take a stronger hold on the opioid receptors.
OCME Reports Update
The North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has published a new set of reports, visit the OCME reports page to view the new reports.
