ATHENS — Health officials in Athens are warning residents about cychlorphine, a highly potent synthetic opioid that has been reported in other parts of Ohio and, they say, could eventually reach Southeast Ohio through established drug-trafficking routes across the state.
No confirmed cases have been reported in Athens or at Ohio University so far. Even so, Kate Cottrill, the Athens City-County Health Department’s regional public health coordinator for preparedness and response, says the region should assume the drug will show up locally and prepare accordingly, rather than wait for a first local overdose to prove it has arrived.
Part of what makes cychlorphine so dangerous, officials say, is how hard it is to spot. Standard fentanyl test strips do not detect it, and most routine urine drug screens used in clinics miss it as well, meaning a specimen often has to be sent away for more extensive laboratory testing before the drug can be identified at all.
The drug is also rarely found on its own. Health officials say it is frequently mixed into other substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, and often appears in pill or tablet form — so someone using another drug may have no way of knowing cychlorphine is present until an overdose occurs.
Federal officials flagged the threat earlier this year. In an April 2026 notice, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy identified Ohio as one of the three states with the most reports of the drug, and Cottrill says she has seen reports tied to both Cleveland and Columbus, two cities connected to Southeast Ohio by trafficking pathways.
Clinicians in Athens say the detection gap complicates treatment. Dr. Christopher Meyer, an addiction medicine specialist at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital, has noted that standard clinic screens will not pick the drug up, delaying answers for patients and providers alike. Researchers cited in recent coverage say cychlorphine may be considerably more potent than fentanyl, though they also report that naloxone can still help reverse an overdose if it is given promptly and repeated as needed.
Public health experts at Ohio University say Appalachian Ohio could be especially exposed if the drug spreads. Rural counties often have fewer health care providers, longer waits for appointments and thinner emergency resources than urban areas, so even a small spike in overdoses could strain local systems that are already stretched.
For now, Cottrill’s advice is blunt: unless a medication is your own prescription, assume an illicit drug could contain cychlorphine. Officials urge anyone who uses drugs, or who is close to someone who does, to carry naloxone, never use alone when possible, and call 911 immediately at the first sign of an overdose — slowed or stopped breathing, unresponsiveness or pinpoint pupils.
