BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Addiction medicine specialists in Kern County are warning about an emerging synthetic opioid known as cychlorphine, a drug physicians say is more potent than fentanyl and significantly harder to detect with current testing tools.
Although there are no confirmed cases of cychlorphine in Kern County, local physicians say the drug has raised concerns after a confirmed overdose death in San Francisco last month. Dr. Matthew Beare, an addiction medicine physician with Clinica Sierra Vista, said it was previously popular oversees and then on the east coast over the last few years.
Beare, who treats patients with substance use disorders, said cychlorphine belongs to a class of synthetic opioids known as nitazenes. He said the drug’s potency and chemical makeup make it especially dangerous.
“What’s alarming about it isn’t just the potency,” Beare said. “The concern is that because of its chemical structure, it’s actually very hard to detect in lab work.”
According to Beare, potency refers to how little of a substance is needed to create a strong or deadly effect. While fentanyl is already far more potent than heroin or morphine, he said cychlorphine is even stronger.
“You’re getting down to the point where you need like a grain of salt or grain of sand worth of that chemical to actually cause death,” he said.
Beare said public health officials have developed tools to combat fentanyl and other drugs in recent years, including fentanyl test strips and overdose reversal medications like Narcan. However, he said those tools may be less effective against cychlorphine and similar synthetic opioids.
“So it’s going to take more of these reversal agents to actually bring someone back from an overdose,” Beare said.
Fentanyl overdose deaths in Kern County reached a peak in 2023, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, though overdose numbers have declined in recent years as awareness, testing and treatment options expanded.
Beare said the medical community is now attempting to stay ahead of emerging synthetic opioids before they become widespread in local drug supplies.
Clinica Sierra Vista has already begun sending urine samples to specialty laboratories capable of testing for nitazenes and other synthetic opioids to determine whether cychlorphine has entered the Kern County market.
“There’s a huge economic push to have a more potent illicit opioid market,” Beare said. “As the market gets more potent, then you’re going to have more people dying.”
Despite growing concerns over increasingly potent drugs, Beare emphasized the importance of encouraging people struggling with substance use disorders to seek medical treatment and support.
He said physicians hope continued research, expanded testing and public education will help communities respond to new synthetic opioids as they emerge.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
