GBI identifies two synthetic opioids new to Georgia

CLEVELAND – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says its north Georgia lab in Cleveland has identified two new fentanyl analogues that had not previously been ID’d by the GBI Crime Lab.

Evidence submitted to the Crime Lab in March by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office was found to be, acrylfentanyl and tetrahydrofuran fentanyl. They are chemical compounds that are structurally similar to fentanyl.

Officials with the GBI say the two drugs are considered highly dangerous. They do not have to be ingested. GBI officials say both can be absorbed through the skin.

While acrylfentanyl has been on the GBI’s watch list for a few months, it’s new to Georgia. GBI officials say, however, that multiple reports from other states where the drug has been found say naloxone may not be effective in treating an overdose of acrylfentanyl. Naloxone is the opioid-reversal drug relied upon to treat opioid overdoses.

Officials say they also are unsure how a person will react to the new synthetic opioids since they are not intended for use in people or animals. Acrylfentanyl has been banned in Georgia since mid-April when Gov. Nathan Deal signed 2017 legislation enacting the ban. Tetrahydrofuran fentanyl is not covered under state law, GBI officials said.

The finding comes two weeks after GBI scientists determined the compounds in a counterfeit drug made to look like Percocet to be synthetic opioids cyclopropyl fentanyl and U-47700. GBI officials said cyclopropyl fentanyl also had not been seen in Georgia until massive overdoses earlier this month involving people who used the knock-off drug in Middle Georgia.