Fentanyl resistant to Narcan appears in Georgia

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — An alert Tuesday evening about a new synthetic designer drug that is resistant to lifesaving overdose medications.

That means more people are likely to die if they overdose on this new strain of Fentanyl which has surfaced in Georgia.

Channel 2's Tom Regan was at Northside Hospital Forsyth where he's told they been overwhelmed by drug overdose involving heroin and Fentanyl.

In one weekend in April, there were four overdoses in the county, two fatal, and Channel 2 Action News is working to learn if they're link to this new drug strain.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is sounding the alarm over a new strain of the illicit synthetic opioid. This one is called Acrylfentanyl.

It was detected in a drug seizure submitted by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office in early spring.

"There are multiple reports showing that this drug is resistant to Naloxone,” Nelly Miles with the GBI said.

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Naloxone and Narcan are lifesaving antidotes to opioid overdoses, but in many cases, they don't seem to work to reverse the effects of Acrylfentanyl.

In Cook County Illinois, official cite 44 overdose deaths so far this year caused by Arcrylfentanyl.

“So now it's in our state,” Miles said.

But, it's not just Acrylfentanyl, which is illegal in Georgia. The GBI has tested another Fentanyl chemical also seized in Forsyth County that is so unique it's not yet on list of banned synthetic designer drugs.

“This is Tetra Hydro Fureon Fentanyl,” Miles said. “It's a long name. We haven't seen it before and unfortunately it isn't covered under Georgia law yet."

Local residents say more must be done to stop these illegal and deadly drugs from entering the United States and Georgia.

“You hear on the news all the time. A lot of people dying. It's a very sad story,” resident Sharon Feller said.

Law enforcement officials say online sales of Fentanyl powder are a big factor behind the epidemic.

Cox Media Group