A drug that's 10,000 times more powerful than heroin is causing overdoses
(FOX NEWS)- A Pennsylvania district attorney is sounding the alarm about a dangerous new heroin mixture that's causing fatal overdoses.
Luzerne County D.A. Stefanie Salavantis said on Fox and Friends today that dealers - in an effort to make their heroin more powerful - are mixing in an animal tranquilizer normally used to sedate bears and elephants.
Carfentanil is said to have a potency 10,000 times higher than morphine or pure heroin and 100 times more powerful than fentanyl.
Fentanyl-laced heroin has been blamed for the increasing numbers of fatal overdoses in the United States.
Salavantis said she has not seen a carfentanil-related overdose in her county yet, but explains that it has happened in Ohio. About 20 of the overdoses were fatal, she said.