Synthetic drug cychlorphine, far stronger than fentanyl, linked to teen overdose in San Francisco

Dante Lacourte, a 16-year-old from San Francisco who enjoyed gymnastics and alpine skiing, was discovered dead from an overdose in April. He had purchased a pill on a street in the Tenderloin, an area known for drug trafficking, and the tablet was later found to contain cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid described as ten times stronger than fentanyl. Although his mother first suspected fentanyl, laboratory analysis identified the more lethal compound.

The incident highlights a growing wave of cychlorphine contamination in the U.S. drug supply, prompting health officials to issue alerts to the public. The case underscores the expanding danger of novel synthetic opioids beyond the already devastating fentanyl crisis.