MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio - The Drug Enforcement Agency is warning about the dangers of the ongoing Fentanyl crisis, and the threat of re-emerging trends with synthetic opioids.

"There are a lot of analogues, or relatives of fentanyl, is a good way of looking at it," DEA public information officer Brian McNeal tells 21 News. "Recently the State of Ohio has put out an alert about carfentanil."

Carfentanil is one of the most deadly fentanyl analogues, and is chemically found to be 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

The DEA's website notes that while a lethal dose of fentanyl is around 2 mg, carfentanil can be fatal at just 0.02mg.

Its re-emerging presence in the illicit drug market is causing concern for an increase of accidental overdose deaths, especially as it is commonly combined with or marketed as being other illicit drugs.

"These drugs are being masked in ways that make them more palatable to an unsuspecting person, they're being pressed into counterfeit pills," McNeal noted. "They don't contain any of the things that they're marketed as."

In Mahoning County, the number of overall drug overdose deaths has seen a steady decline over the past five years, and is expected to continue through 2025.

The latest numbers show a total of 42 overdose deaths in the county between January and July of 2025. During that same period of time in 2024, there were 68 deaths.

However, for the first time since data logging began in 2007, "other synthetic opioids" have been identified as the primary contributing substance to an overdose death, and has been the case for 17.6% of the overall overdose deaths in 2025.

It's unclear whether carfentanil is the specific synthetic opioid behind any of these deaths. but McNeal says, awareness is key to avoiding this dangerous potential trend.

"These drugs are readily available, and just a small amount can end your life," he said.