Police in Dubuque are worried about a drug that's coming into their area for the first time. This week they sent out a warning about carfentanil.
Gary Pape, director of the Dubuque Drug Task Force, says carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl which is 50 times more potent than heroin.
"If someone doesn't have a strong tolerance for opiates or someone who just got out of treatment or jail and their tolerance is down - if they use carfentanil of fentanil it may be the last time they use it because their system simply can't take it."
Carfentanil is an opiate, and its legal use is as a large animal tranquilizer.
He hopes people will think twice before using the drug because that may save their life.
"The dosage for carfentanil and fentanil is micrograms, not milligrams but micrograms. So the potential for someone who's not an addict to get hurt or die is very strong."
These drugs usually appear as a white or tan powder.
The director of the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group, James Rieck, says carfentanil has not yet shown up in this area, but since it's in Chicago now, it could start showing up here some time soon.
