The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department has issued a warning asking residents to beware of carfentanil on the streets.
According to the County, their Drug Task Force recently had a 2025 investigation that they initially believed involved fentanyl.
The investigation oversaw two purchases that were conducted, each with “several hundred round blue pills”.
Afterwards, authorities tested the pills only discover that they were actually carfentanil.
Bothfentanyl and carfentanil are illegally made opioids that can be extremely dangerous. However, carfentanil is slightly more potent, and therefore may pose more of a threat when abused.
Waukesha County’s Drug Task Force stated that it is 100 times more lethal than fentanyl.
According to theCDC, local reports have indicated that the use of carfentanil has reemerged in recent years. Between 2023 and 2024, deaths from the drug have increased sevenfold. It has currently been found in 37 states.
The DEA has also stated that most of the carfentanil seizures reported in 2024 were from the drug appearing in pill or tablet form. It is often pressed into pills that resemble prescription drugs, leading to user mistakenly thinking they are consuming a different, less potent drug.
The deceptive appearance of the drug and its high potency significantly increases the risk of overdose and death.
Treatment against the opioid is extremely difficult. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department stated that “Fatal overdose can result from skin contact of inhalation”.
Additionally, it may be too powerful for Narcan, the life saving drug often used to quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
“Narcan has proven to often be ineffective in normal doses against this synthetic opioid”.
The drug was initially developed as a tranquilizer for large animals such as elephants and horses, but it has no approved use for humans.
Waukesha County’s Drug Task Force has not publicly shared any additional information at this time, but is urging residents to stay cautious and alert.
In recent years, the team has shifted from concerns about marijuana and cocaine to concerns over fentanyl because of it has “the most prevalent threat to our quality of life”.
