A new synthetic opioid is making the rounds in North America and has law enforcement and health care professionals worried. Since its first detection in the U.S. in 2024, more drug samples have been found to contain cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid that is up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl.
As concerns around accidental drug overdoses rise, experts explain how cychlorphine can be mixed into other street drugs but also included in counterfeit pills, which are designed to imitate prescription medication.
Now that cychlorphine has been detected in all four U.S. Census regions and has been linked to dozens of deaths, initiatives to spread awareness about fake prescription pills and opioid use disorder are hoping to educate people, especially teenagers, about the rising risks.
What Is Cychlorphine?
Natural opioids, like morphine and codeine, are derived from a specific type of poppy plant called an opium poppy. Synthetic opioids, on the other hand, are made in a laboratory and can be much stronger than natural opioids, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
All opioids work in the brain and the rest of the body by attaching to opioid receptors that block pain signals, which makes them popular painkillers. However, opioid receptors also play a role in breathing, which is why high doses can slow breathing to dangerously low levels that can lead to death.
Explore All OptionsCychlorphine, or N-propionitrile chlorphine, is part of an emerging subclass of novel synthetic opioids and was first detected at the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) in 2024. Current pharmacological tests suggest cychlorphine may be up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl, according to the CFSRE. The synthetic opioid has been found in samples as the sole opioid, mixed with other opioids like fentanyl or oxycodone, or alongside common stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine.
Read More: New Synthetic Opioid Cychlorphine Found in Toronto, Raising Fentanyl-Level Concerns
Cychlorphine Has Been Detected in All Four U.S. Census Regions
As reported by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in a statement from April 2026, at least 55 deaths were linked to cychlorphine between 2025 and 2026. The agency also reported that cychlorphine had entered the illicit drug supply in all four U.S. Census regions, with the highest prevalence in Ohio, Texas and Tennessee.
By the end of 2025, cychlorphine was identified over 100 times in drug samples across 10 states, compared to only one report in 2024.
What makes cychlorphine, and other dangerous synthetic opioids, so risky is that they can be mixed with other substances in products illegally purchased and advertised as something else, such as fake prescription drugs. Another challenge in identifying the substance is that regular drug test strips and routine hospital urine screens for opioids are not able to detect cychlorphine.
Song for Charlie, a national organization that educates people about the drug landscape and fake prescription pills, told WMTV about awareness in the general public. Knowledge of fentanyl being part of counterfeit pills has increased from 27 percent in 2021 to 65 percent among teenagers today. However, just 33 percent of teenagers consider a pill from someone they’re close to as dangerous, compared with almost 90 percent for a pill from a stranger.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from Johns Hopkins Medicine: Opioids
- This article references information from The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education:
- Increase in Fatal Overdoses Linked to Novel Synthetic Opioid N-Propionitrile Chlorphine (Cychlorphine)
- This article references information from the Office of National Drug Control Policy: Cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid involved in at least 55 deaths, has potential to spread across Nation
- This article references information from WMTV: Experts warn about opioid up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl
