New synthetic opioid found in East TN overdose death cases

A new synthetic opioid has now been linked to 16 deaths in East Tennessee according to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center. The forensic center had said that there had been nine overdose deaths involving cychlorphine between late October and December 2025. Now the center says preliminary toxicology reports have linked seven more deaths to the drug as of mid-January. Cychlorphine has never been approved for medical use, it is more powerful than fentanyl, and Narcan does not completely block it’s effects. Data on the new synthetic opioid shows that the drug has also been detected in samples in 6 other states, but Tennessee had the highest number of confirmed cases in the report.