A weapons-grade chemical called carfentanil is surging in the U.S. drug supply, killing hundreds and prompting warnings from federal authorities. The substance, which is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine, was identified in 1,400 drug seizures in 2025, compared with 145 in 2023 and 54 in 2022, according to DEA records reviewed by The Associated Press.
The rise coincides with a Chinese government crackdown on precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. That regulatory pressure is likely prompting traffickers in Mexico to use carfentanil as a potency booster for weakened fentanyl supplies, according to DEA intelligence bulletins reviewed by the AP.
Carfentanil is so deadly that even multiple high doses of naloxone—the overdose-reversing drug widely used in emergency response—may not be effective in reversing overdoses involving the substance. The DEA’s annual quota for lawfully manufactured carfentanil, used by veterinarians to tranquilize elephants and other large animals, is just 20 grams—an amount fitting in the palm of a hand.
Carfentanil: The Deadliest Drug Surges in U.S. Supply
Michael Nalewaja was 36 years old and had settled into a stable life in Alaska. He worked as an electrician, having recovered from a teenage addiction nearly two decades earlier.
Days before Thanksgiving 2025, that stability collapsed. Nalewaja and a friend took what they believed was cocaine. It was actually a lethal mixture of fentanyl and carfentanil—a substance so potent that even emergency-room doses of naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug, may not save a user’s life.
“I heard the word ‘autopsy’ and I literally just collapsed to the floor,” said his mother, Kelley Nalewaja, recalling her daughter-in-law’s call. “Even if somebody had been there prepared with Narcan—even if somebody had called 911 in time—he was not going to survive.”
Nalewaja’s death is one of hundreds linked to carfentanil, a weapons-grade chemical now reshaping the U.S. drug supply. The substance was identified in 1,400 drug seizures in 2025—up from 145 in 2023 and 54 in 2022—according to Drug Enforcement Administration records reviewed by The Associated Press.
The rise coincides with a Chinese government crackdown on precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. That regulatory pressure is likely prompting traffickers in Mexico to use carfentanil as a potency booster for weakened fentanyl supplies, according to DEA intelligence bulletins reviewed by the AP.
Extreme Potency, Extreme Risk
Carfentanil is roughly 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. “You’re talking about not even a grain of salt that could be potentially lethal,” said Frank Tarentino, the DEA’s chief of operations for its northeast region. “This presents an extremely frightening proposition for substance abuse dependent people who seek opioids on the street today.”
The DEA’s annual quota for lawfully manufactured carfentanil—veterinarians use it to sedate elephants and other large animals—is just 20 grams, an amount that fits in the palm of a hand.
Even multiple high doses of naloxone might not reverse an overdose when carfentanil is involved, experts told the AP. That distinction makes carfentanil uniquely dangerous. In 2024, overdose deaths involving carfentanil nearly tripled compared to 2023, with 413 deaths reported across 42 states and Washington, D.C., according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The Paradox of Declining Deaths
U.S. overdose deaths have fallen for more than two years—the longest decline in decades. Fentanyl seizures have also plummeted, dropping to about 12,000 pounds in 2025 from more than 24,000 pounds in 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Yet even as fentanyl seizures decline, carfentanil’s presence is expanding. The DEA recently documented several large seizures. In October, the Los Angeles Field Division found 628,000 pills containing carfentanil. In September, officials seized more than 50,000 counterfeit M30 pills from a person at a gas station in Washington state; the pills were a mixture of carfentanil and acetaminophen.
Manufacturing Barriers and Procurement Routes
Manufacturing carfentanil presents extraordinary dangers that may slow its adoption among traffickers. “You can’t just dabble in this,” Tarentino said. “This is not some mad scientist on Reddit you’re going to get to go out to a rudimentary laboratory in Mexico to make carfentanil.”
Instead, some cartels may be procuring carfentanil from China-based vendors who are skirting their country’s regulations by advertising online, according to authorities.
Economics Fuel Adoption
The drug’s appeal to traffickers is straightforward: so little carfentanil goes such a long way in the supply chain that it offers enormous profit margins. Some substance users who have developed tolerance to fentanyl seek out carfentanil despite the danger, because it promises an intense euphoria.
“The toughest part about all of this,” said Rob Tanguay, senior medical lead for addiction services with Recovery Alberta, a Canadian health agency, “is that this is all about money.”
A Mother’s Warning
After Nalewaja’s death, his mother organized a town hall in her hometown of El Dorado Hills, California. She brought together local officials and other mothers who had lost children to overdose, pushing for legislative and judicial changes.
“It’s not an OD; it’s not an overdose,” Kelley Nalewaja said. “It’s a murder weapon.”
The Trump administration has made drug enforcement a priority. Sara Carter, the president’s drug czar, stated: “Anyone who takes a pill that is not prescribed to them by their doctor is playing a game of Russian roulette with their life. But if those terrorists think they can continue this chemical warfare without consequences, they are wrong.”
Former DEA official Mike Vigil warned that carfentanil poses particular danger if distribution widens. “Carfentanil definitely has that potential of spreading throughout the United States unless law enforcement really focuses in on carfentanil and they develop intelligence as to how these drug addicts are getting it,” he said.
Michael King Jr., founder of the Opioid Awareness Foundation, struck a note of alarm: “If the world thinks we had a problem with fentanyl, that’s minute compared to what we’re going to be dealing with with carfentanil.”
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