INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana officials are warning the public that a dangerous drug called Gray Death has begun circulating in the state.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that Gray Death is a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and other synthetic opioids. It says the drug already has caused an overdose in central Indiana.
The agency says a persistent increase in opioid overdoses tied to the synthetic drug carfentanil have been seen around the country. Carfentanil is used as a tranquilizer for elephants and other large mammals and is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. Fentanyl has been linked to a rise in overdoses in Indiana and surrounding states.
