New York State has issued an urgent health alert over a deadly drug combination dubbed by authorities as ‘Super Mario.’
The powder is made up of fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than morphine, traces of heroin, carfentanil (an elephant tranquilizer) and xylazine, a carnivorous tranquilizer that is becoming increasingly common in the illicit drug supply.
He alert was issued last week after state drug enforcement officials found two bags of ‘Super Mario’ on the street in central New York last month and analyzed them last week.
A third sample is currently being analyzed.
Fentanyl and carfentanil are very potent and more lethal than heroin, another opioid. A few grains of both can be lethal
The graph above shows how drug overdose deaths have increased since 2002, when the report began.
The New York State Department of Health, in partnership with the ACRHealth laboratory in Syracuse, said: “Two samples from bags labeled ‘Super Mario’ were tested and found to have a combination of fentanyl, xylazine and traces of heroin and carfentanil, a potent drug considered up to 100 times stronger than fentanyl.’
New York state has not announced any deaths directly related to ‘Super Mario.’
Dr James McDonald, Health Commissioner, said: “Carfentenil is a veterinary medicine which is no longer on the market because it is so dangerous.
“The Department partners with community programs that provide access to drug testing so that these dangerous substances are identified before they are used by a person who uses drugs and is at risk of overdose.”
More than 6,300 New Yorkers died from fentanyl overdoses in 2023, and about 80,000 die annually in the United States from abusing the drug.
Fentanyl is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and a small dose is enough to kill.
Carfentanil has also become increasingly common. The DEA warned the public about this more than eight years ago.
The above shows a person on the streets of San Francisco, which has seen an increase in drug overdoses.
Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said in 2016, “Carfentanil is showing up in more and more communities.”
‘We see her on the streets, often dressed as a heroine. It’s very dangerous. Synthetics like fentanyl and carfentanil can kill you. “I hope our first responders, and the public, read and heed our health and safety warning.”
Xylazine is a tranquilizer used by veterinarians and is not approved for human use.
It is known to cause fainting and serious injuries. It eats away at skin tissues because it blocks blood flow through blood vessels.
All of the ‘Super Mario’ drugs greatly depress the respiratory system, slowing breathing to dangerously low levels or stopping it completely.
The combination also produces sedation, in which case the person will not be aware of their breathing problem, which increases the risk of death.
An estimated 108,000 Americans overdosed and died in 2022, the latest year for which data is available.
Deaths related to synthetic opioids other than methadone (mainly fentanyl) continued to increase, with 73,838 overdose deaths reported in 2022 compared to previous years.