The Clemson City Police Department is warning the public that an illegal drug more powerful than heroin and morphine has been recently spotted in the Upstate.
The department posted on Facebook that carfentanil, a drug normally used as an elephant tranquilizer, was detected in the Clemson area.
Clemson City Police Chief Jimmy Dixon told WYFF News 4 that “investigators recently got back toxicology results from two cases last year in which one of the victims, who had been thought to have alcohol poisoning, tested positive for carfentanil.”
Clemson police said the drug comes in many forms and is often disguised as other illegal substances such as heroin or cocaine. It may be found in the form of a powder, blotter paper, tablets, patches or spray and can be absorbed through the skin or accidentally inhaled.
Police said the effects of exposure usually appear within minutes. Symptoms include respiratory arrest or depression, drowsiness, disorientation, sedation, pinpoint pupils and clammy skin, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In Sept. 2016, the DEA issued a public warning about carfentanil. According to the warning, carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
“Carfentanil is surfacing in more and more communities,” said DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “We see it on the streets, often disguised as heroin. It is crazy dangerous.  Synthetics such as fentanyl and carfentanil can
kill you. I hope our first responders — and the public — will read and heed our health and safety warning. These men and women have remarkably difficult jobs and we need them to be well and healthy.”
Carfentanil is a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act, according to the DEA. The lethal dose range for humans is unknown.
If you believe you have been exposed to carfentanil, seek medical attention immediately, authorities said.