HOUSTON — A new street drug is causing a headache for law enforcement agencies on the Gulf Coast.
It's called 'gray death' and law enforcement authorities, as well as doctors, are warning people that it is deadly. The opioid cocktail looks like tiny chunks of concrete. The key ingredients are believed to be heroin, fentanyl and carfentanyl.
Authorities said they believe it's being made in small batches. They said their goal is to contain it before it becomes an epidemic.
So, what exactly is gray death and how dangerous is it?
Addiction psychiatrist Dr. Austin Lin, with the McGovern Medical School at UT Health, said the key ingredient, carfentanyl, is so potent that a few micrograms could be deadly.
"You can barely see it, one very small particle," Lin said. "Just a few micrograms can absolutely be deadly, it's designed to be a large animal or elephant tranquilizer."
The drug is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.
"In its pure form, 20 micrograms is deadly. That's so tiny, roughly speaking, that means a single grain of rice weighs the same as about 1,000 deadly doses," Lin said.
First responders should wear gloves and a mask when dealing with gray death. If someone overdoses on the drug, Narcan can be used as an antidote, but Lin said it may take more than one round.
"It may take several rounds of Narcan to revive someone in the field," he said.
Some people have said that just touching the drug could kill you instantly, but Lin said that those rumors are a little overblown. He cited a 2019 study of carfentanyl.
"It takes about 45 minutes for 20 micrograms of carfentanyl to be absorbed and the reason that is significant is usually they found 20 micrograms of carfentanyl is fatal," Lin said. "The bigger concern is if it gets into our mucous membranes."
In that test, the carfentanyl was in a liquid form, but on the street, it's cut in a powder form, so absorption would be even slower.
If you do come in contact with gray death, wash your hands immediately with cool water and notify authorities.
The bottom line? Gray death is very dangerous.