Teen's Overdose Death Fuels Warnings About Cychlorphine, an Opioid Up to 10 Times Stronger Than Fentanyl
The death of a 16-year-old San Francisco boy from a suspected cychlorphine overdose is heightening alarm among health officials about a synthetic opioid that is up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl and is spreading through the nation’s illicit drug supply.
Dante Lacourte, identified in a New York Times report as the San Francisco teenager, died in April after taking cychlorphine, a designer drug that first appeared in the United States in 2024. Investigators say the drug is frequently mixed into other substances—including methamphetamine, bromazolam and cocaine—without users’ knowledge.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy issued a threat notice in April, describing cychlorphine as “up to ten times more potent than fentanyl” and linking it to 55 deaths nationwide between 2025 and 2026.
Most of those confirmed overdoses have been concentrated in Tennessee, where the Knox County Regional Forensic Center has been among the first agencies to trace and report the drug’s toll. In April, the center said it had tied cychlorphine to at least 41 deaths across 11 Tennessee counties between July 2025 and February 2026.
“What’s especially troubling is that cychlorphine may have been circulating far longer than we know,” Chris Thomas, chief administrative officer and director of the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, said in a statement at the time. “It has never been more dangerous to take street-level drugs than right now.”
In July, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a temporary order placing cychlorphine in Schedule I, the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. But because the drug is so new, state and federal policy has struggled to keep pace.
The case involving Lacourte has also led to arrests. On Sept. 8 and 9, San Francisco police took four suspects into custody and seized more than 20,000 counterfeit pills following what officials described as a sweeping investigation that began with the 16-year-old’s fatal overdose in April. Authorities accused the suspects of being the source of the pills Lacourte took.
Despite the enforcement action, health officials say the threat from cychlorphine not only remains but appears to be growing. Here’s what to know.
Cychlorphine, also known as N-Propionitrile chlorphine, is a synthetic or chemically manufactured opioid that global health officials began tracking in mid-2024. Like fentanyl, another highly potent synthetic opioid, it can be used recreationally on its own or mixed with drugs such as heroin.
It was first documented by the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education as a designer drug—a substance engineered to mimic the effects of an established drug, such as morphine, while technically skirting legal regulations and standard drug tests. It belongs to an emerging subclass of synthetic opioids often called “orphines” or “orphine analogues,” which are typically distributed in powder or tablet form. Early reports have traced the drug’s origins to China, from which it likely spread to Europe and beyond.
Like other synthetic opioids, which are a leading cause of overdose death in the United States, cychlorphine’s potency means it can rapidly overwhelm the respiratory system even in very small doses, quickly rendering a person unconscious or unable to breathe.
Experts are still learning about the drug and its effects. Its novelty makes it harder to detect: most toxicology tests used by hospitals, first responders and law enforcement are not equipped to identify it, according to the Addiction Center. Its strength also means naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication commonly known as Narcan, may be less effective and may require several doses to work.
The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education said in a January public alert that the United States, Canada, Europe and Oceania have seen an “alarming increase in deaths” linked to synthetic opioids. Cychlorphine specifically has been detected in a notably increased number of fatal drug overdoses since mid-2025.
Early data from sample testing showed the drug to be roughly 10 times more potent than fentanyl, according to the center and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, though how accurately that figure translates to real-world use is still unknown.
Health officials are still developing tools and techniques to track the prevalence of newer orphines and other synthetic drugs. In April, the Office of National Drug Control Policy had confirmed cychlorphine’s presence in 10 states through 2025: California, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. As of January, the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education had also detected it in Nevada and New York.
Reports are most concentrated in the South, Midwest and Northeast, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with the greatest prevalence in Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Chicago’s Cook County reported seven deaths in 2026 as of July 13, while Knox County told local news it had 50 related overdose deaths as of June.
Local and state governments in Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Oklahoma and South Carolina have also issued warnings alerting the public to the known presence of cychlorphine in their regions.
The broader concern is that drugs like cychlorphine reflect a shift in the illicit supply toward cheap, highly potent synthetics that are easy to disguise and difficult to detect. That combination can widen the circle of people at risk, including those who believe they are taking a prescription pill or a recreational drug rather than an opioid powerful enough to cause a rapid overdose.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teen’s death sparks warning over opioid 10 times stronger than fentanyl