Louisiana has become the latest hotspot for a dangerous synthetic opioid known as cychlorphine, which is up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl and has been tied to at least 41 deaths across the United States. The drug, first identified by a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lab in Florida in 2024, has now been detected in at least 13 states, prompting public health warnings.
Discovery in Louisiana
Recent testing by the North Louisiana Crime Lab confirmed the presence of cychlorphine in Caddo, DeSoto, and Ouachita parishes. The lab issued a public alert in March after a sample from the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office tested positive for the substance. "These substances are being encountered in counterfeit pharmaceutical forms, significantly increasing the risk of overdose," the lab stated.
Potency and Dangers
There are no human studies of cychlorphine, but laboratory tests indicate it could be up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl, which itself is roughly 50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl caused approximately 48,000 deaths in 2024, according to the latest government statistics. Experts fear that cychlorphine could cause even greater harm if it becomes widespread. Kenton Leigh, deputy director of toxicology and chemistry at the North Louisiana Crime Lab, warned that reversing a cychlorphine overdose may require multiple doses of naloxone, the opioid reversal agent. "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," he told KSLA.
National Spread
Cychlorphine, also known as N-Propionitrile Chlorphine, has been linked to 41 deaths between July 2025 and February 2026, according to Tennessee health officials. Oklahoma reported at least one overdose death tied to the drug in March. In Ohio, eight police seizures between October and January contained cychlorphine or a related compound, with six linked to overdose cases. The Center for Forensic Science Research & Education, a partner of the U.S. Department of Justice, identified cychlorphine in 25 blood specimens from fatal overdoses, with the drug as the sole opioid in nearly half of those cases. Samples were submitted from eight U.S. states and three Canadian provinces in late 2025 and early 2026.
Detection Challenges
Public health officials are particularly concerned because standard drug test kits and law enforcement screening methods are not designed to detect cychlorphine. Naida Rutherford, the coroner in Richland County, South Carolina, told NPR after a recent positive identification: "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."
Origins and Enforcement
The DEA first identified cychlorphine in 2024 at a Florida lab. By the end of February 2026, DEA laboratories had identified the substance in 22 samples, the agency told The Hill. Experts believe the drug is likely manufactured in Asia and has become more prevalent as U.S. and Chinese authorities crack down on other synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Joey Jones, system director of the North Louisiana Crime Lab, described the situation as a "cat-and-mouse game" between law enforcement and drug distributors. "These are manufactured in China and distributed through the cartels on our streets," Jones told The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
Reported States
Cases of cychlorphine have been reported in 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 only drugs from legitimate, tested sources. "It has never been more dangerous to take street-level drugs than right now," Chris Thomas, chief administrative officer of Tennessee's Knox County Regional Forensic Center, told WATE.
