What Is Carfentanil? China Bans Opiate Stronger Than Drug That Killed Prince

The synthetic opioid that hundreds of people in the U.S. fatally overdosed from last year was scheduled to be blacklisted in China March 1, the country's Ministry of Public Security announced Thursday. The designation would place the drug on China's controlled substances list and close a lethal loophole associated with widespread opioid abuse in the U.S.

Prior to China’s decision to ban the drug, producers were legally exporting carfentanil. The Associated Press identified 12 Chinese businesses last September who were willing to export carfentanil to the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Belgium, Australia and the U.K. for about $2,750 per two pounds.

China also planned to apply the ban to other carfentanil-related drugs including furanyl fentanyl, acryl fentanyl and valeryl fentanyl, the Associated Press reported.

“It shows China’s attitude as a responsible big country,” the director of the Office of the National Narcotics Control Committee Yu Haibin said.

Australian authorities seized a shipment of the drug in a Queensland mail center Friday.

“Make no mistake, these are not party drugs,” Queensland Police Superintendent Jon Wacker said afterward. “These are dangerous drugs and it’s not a matter of if it will kill you — this drug will kill you.” Wacker urged police to circulate warnings on the highly potent drug immediately, BBC News reported.

Carfentanil has been shown to be 100 times stronger than fentanyl — the opiate that was believed to have been the cause of Prince’s death last year — and was mainly used to tranquilize large animals, notably fully grown elephants weighing nearly 2,000 pounds. A dose of carfentanil the size of a grain of sand was deemed a high enough dosage to cause death — 10,000 times more potent than morphine. The deadly drug can be obtained in a multitude of forms, including tablets, spray, powder, blotter paper and patches, according to U.S. authorities. It can also be inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued an officer safety alert last year highlighting the dangerous effects the drugs will have if encountered.

“The presence of carfentanil in illicit U.S. drug markets is cause for concern, as the relative strength of his drug could lead to an increase in overdoses and overdose-related deaths, even among opioid-tolerant users,” the alert read in part. “Carfentanil and other fentanyl analogues present a serious risk to public safety, first responder, medical treatment and laboratory personnel.”

More than 400 seizures caused by carfentanil were reported across eight states from July through October, according to NPR.

China’s recent measures would be a “game-changer” to ending the U.S.’s opioid epidemic, the DEA said.

Controlling carfentanil was a “substantial step in the fight against opioids here in the United States,” DEA special agent of Russell Baer told the Associated Press. His team was “persuaded it will have a definite impact,” Baer added.