Louisiana Becomes Latest State to Warn of Potent Synthetic Opioid Cychlorphine
Louisiana is on high alert as experts warn of the spread of cychlorphine, a powerful synthetic opioid that has now been detected in at least 13 U.S. states. The drug, which can be up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl, has been linked to at least 41 deaths nationwide.
The North Louisiana Crime Lab identified cychlorphine in samples from Caddo, DeSoto, and Ouachita parishes. The drug is sometimes manufactured to resemble commercial painkillers like oxycodone, increasing the risk of accidental overdose.
Unprecedented Potency Raises Alarm
There are no human studies of cychlorphine, but lab tests suggest it could be 10 times stronger than fentanyl, which itself is about 50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl killed approximately 48,000 people in 2024, according to government statistics.
“With a drug like cychlorphine that is more powerful than fentanyl, it could take multiple doses of NARCAN — it could take a truck load of NARCAN — to reverse that overdose,” said Kenton Leigh, deputy director of toxicology and chemistry at the lab, referring to the opioid overdose reversal nasal spray.
National Spread and Death Toll
Cychlorphine, also known as N-Propionitrile Chlorphine, was tied to 41 deaths between July 2025 and February 2026, according to Tennessee health officials. Oklahoma reported at least one overdose death linked to the drug in March. In Ohio, between October and January, eight police seizures contained cychlorphine or a related compound, six of which were associated with overdose cases.
The Center for Forensic Science Research & Education, a Justice Department partner, identified cychlorphine in 25 blood specimens from fatal overdoses, with the drug as the sole opioid in nearly half of those cases. The samples were submitted in late 2025 and early 2026 from eight U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.
Detection Challenges
Public health officials are concerned because drug test kits and law enforcement screening methods are not designed to detect cychlorphine. “This is the first time we've seen it in South Carolina, which is very scary because none of us knew to test for it,” said Naida Rutherford, coroner in Richland County, South Carolina, after a recent positive identification in an overdose death.
A Drug Enforcement Administration lab in Florida first spotted the drug in 2024. “Through the end of February 2026, DEA laboratories have identified this substance in 22 samples,” the agency told The Hill.
Cat-and-Mouse Game
Experts believe the drug is likely manufactured in Asia and has grown more prominent as U.S. and Chinese officials crack down on other synthetic opioids like fentanyl. “These are manufactured in China and distributed through the cartels on our streets,” said Joey Jones, system director of the North Louisiana Crime Lab.
With reported cases across at least 13 states — New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, Nevada, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ohio, and South Carolina — officials urge the public to use drugs only from legitimate, tested sources.
“It has never been more dangerous to take street-level drugs than right now,” said Chris Thomas, chief administrative officer of Tennessee’s Knox County Regional Forensic Center.
