A synthetic opioid stronger than fentanyl caused a fatal overdose in Los Angeles County in February, marking the county's first confirmed death tied to the drug.
The warning hits close to home for Pasadena, where Huntington Health has spent years training residents to recognize and reverse opioid overdoses. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced Thursday, Oct. 15, that the county medical examiner identified cychlorphine as a cause of the February death. The finding is the first time cychlorphine has been confirmed in the local illicit drug supply.
Cychlorphine is roughly ten times stronger than fentanyl, according to potency data from the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education cited by Hoodline. A very small amount can stop a person's breathing, the county health department said.
The drug is undetectable by fentanyl test strips. It also does not show up on routine hospital urine drug screens, according to a health alert issued by Brian Hurley, the interim director and medical director of the county's Substance Abuse Prevention and Control division. That alert warned clinicians that cychlorphine may require repeated and higher doses of naloxone to reverse an overdose.
Detected in 19 states
Cychlorphine first appeared in the U.S. illicit drug supply in 2024 and has been detected in 19 states, the health department said. It has turned up in powders, counterfeit prescription pills, rocks or crystals, and liquids. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classified cychlorphine as a Schedule I controlled substance in August, making it illegal to possess or sell. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never approved it for medical use.
Another cychlorphine-linked death was reported in Northern California in April. Nationally, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy data counted at least 55 cychlorphine-linked deaths by May, with the heaviest concentration in Tennessee, Ohio and Texas, Hoodline reported.
What Pasadena residents should know
The county health department urged residents to carry naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication available as a nasal spray or injection at county community health stations, public health centers, retail pharmacies and medical providers. Naloxone can reverse the effects of cychlorphine and restore breathing, though multiple doses may be needed.
Pasadena's Huntington Health has been building local naloxone access for years. Between 2021 and 2024, the hospital's overdose education and naloxone distribution program trained 3,466 community members and distributed 517 naloxone kits, according to a study its members published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, as reported by PasadenaNow. Samuel Beckerman, an emergency physician at Huntington Hospital and a co-author of the study, called naloxone education "a powerful form of community empowerment," according to a hospital news release.
The county also offers free, anonymous drug checking through Drug Checking Los Angeles, which can test samples for cychlorphine in about 15 to 20 minutes at sites across the county.
The county's Substance Abuse Service Helpline (SASH) is available at 800-854-7771. Residents can find treatment services at RecoverLA.org or reach Poison Control at 800-222-1222.
