1st overdose death of drug '100 times more potent than fentanyl' reported in Santa Clara Co.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A new deadly drug called carfentanil is in Santa Clara County, medical experts say.

It's a synthetic opioid like fentanyl, but much stronger.

On Wednesday, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michelle Jordan announced that the county's first overdose death due to carfentanil was reported last week.

"Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl," Dr. Jordan said.

MORE: What is SF's strategy after 400+ fentanyl overdoses in 2024? Many are asking for a drastic approach

National Fentanyl Awareness Day highlights the dangers of the drug causing a crisis in San Francisco and killing thousands across the country.

Last week, a 39-year-old man was found dead with M30 pills, counterfeit pills made to look like prescription oxycodone.

"What I'm really worried about -- and the reason I want people to be made aware of this -- is because some of the pills that are sold off the street could be potentially laced with carfentanil," Dr. Jordan said.

Jordan said this recent death means the drug is out there, and fake pills look real.

When it comes to treatment, Cheryl Ho, the county's Behavioral Health Medical Director for substance use, said there's been a lot of focus on the treatment of opioid use disorder.

"We would like to be there, provide services, let you know what's offered," Ho said. "You know, you don't have to be perfect or gotten somewhere to get help. You can be just anywhere in your journey, and there is some sort of help available. And so I think really we've been working hard these past years to really orient our services more towards meeting people where they're at."

MORE: Santa Rosa father who lost son to accidental fentanyl overdose making it his 'goal' to warn others

A Santa Rosa father who lost his son to an accidental fentanyl overdose is making it his "goal" to warn others about the dangers of the drug.

The county's Opioid Overdose Prevention Project offers free naloxone - the overdose-reversing drug - by mail to anyone 18 or older.

Dr. Jordan said her office will sound the alarm on any drugs they see in the community.

"So this stack are all the postmortem toxicology reports of drug-related fatalities," she said, pointing to a large stack of papers on all the overdose deaths she's handled since 2019. "What does that say to me? It says to me that there are a lot of individuals that are dying from drug overdoses, but most importantly, there are a lot of families that are impacted by the drug crisis."

Carfentanil has already been reported on the East Coast and Midwest.