What to know about cychlorphine, the synthetic opioid 10 times stronger than fentanyl

Multiple states have raised the alarm in the past month about cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid tied to several dozen recent overdoses that is far stronger than fentanyl.

Cychlorphine is part of a new class of synthetic opioids making their way into the U.S. illicit drug supply. The drug has never been approved for use in humans. Like fentanyl, cychlorphine is being mixed in with other street drugs, but it is not detectable through fentanyl test strips, making it even more dangerous.

Narcan is still believed to be effective at treating an overdose caused by cychlorphine. 

When reached for comment, the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement to The Hill, “In April 2024, N-propionitrile chlorphine was first reported in Florida by a DEA laboratory. Through the end of February 2026, DEA laboratories have identified this substance in 22 samples.” 

In East Tennessee, cychlorphine has been linked to 19 overdose deaths; the Gallia County Health Department in Ohio issued an overdose alert this week; and the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security sent out a public warning about the drug last month.

The Center for Forensic Science Research & Education (CFSRE) issued a public alert at the end of January on the spread of cychlorphine, or N-propionitrile chlorphine. 

“In vitro pharmacology data show this drug to be approximately 10x more potent than fentanyl,” the CFSRE’s alert stated. “The positivity of N-propionitrile chlorphine, specifically in fatal drug overdoses, has increased since mid-2025.” 

At the time of the CFSRE’s alert, cychlorphine had been detected in New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, Nevada and California. 

“Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than that of heroin, and then the cychlorphine is 10 times more powerful than fentanyl,” Jim Joyner, president of the Ohio Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors, told The Hill. “So, you’re talking about very minute amounts of the drug that could be potentially lethal.” 

As Joyner explained, chronic opioid addicts pursue substances that promise a stronger high just to feel “normal,” and reports of a newer drug causing overdoses actually attract addicts to it. 

“This defies natural survival instinct,” said Joyner. “Why do people do it? Well, you got to understand what addiction is. It’s a brain disorder. It’s not a choice, not rational. It’s a distortion on the environment how brain functions that results with repetitive use of very powerful psychoactive substances.” 

Synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, have become a pressing issue in the U.S. According to the World Health Organization, about half of all opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2019 were a result of synthetic opioids. 

According to addiction specialists, it’s unclear where cychlorphine is originating, but it’s not hard for labs to pump it out. 

“Most of these are coming from either South Asia, China, places where there’s a lot of chemical supply companies,” said Timothy Wiegand, president-elect of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.  

“It isn’t coming just like somebody in their bathroom, making it like methamphetamine, from a couple of products or in the U.S. It’s coming from international, multilevel drug distribution networks, some of the cartels or other isolated networks,” added Wiegand. 

Just this week, the U.S. and China got into a spat at a United Nations drug meeting, with the former accusing the latter of failing to stem the sale of precursor chemicals for fentanyl. 

“We know that China’s weak export controls and lax enforcement allow its chemical industry to foster friendships with the [drug] cartels,” Sara Carter, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a delivered statement. 

“It is regrettable that just now the U.S. delegate again made ⁠remarks that do not reflect reality,” Chinese envoy Gao Wei said in his own statement. 

Wiegand noted that while some cychlorphine might also be reaching people through the dark web, most people buying opioids off the street probably aren’t even aware they’re taking this highly potent opioid. 

While the drug has been circulating for at least the past year, Joyner speculated that cychlorphine has only recently come to public awareness because it wasn’t being tested for.

Wiegand said the recent cluster deaths also contributed to the rise in public attention.

“The main thing is that this is part of the new wave of synthetic opioids. This is not going away,” he said. “It’s not going away. It’s not going to replace fentanyl. Fentanyl is not going away. Fentanyl is a very easy chemical to make, and tons of money, billions and billions of dollars involved in synthesizing this, even with putting restrictions on it.” 

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