New Synthetic Opioid Cychlorphine Found in Toronto, Raising Fentanyl-Level Concerns
The opioid crisis continues to hold the world in its dangerous grip. What often starts as a harmless injury requiring pain medication to support healing can lead to a crippling addiction, fueled by the abundance of drugs provided by an unregulated market.
Fentanyl, one of the most potent synthetic opioids, is regularly abused for unsupervised recreational use — intentionally or not — accounting for around 70 percent of all overdose deaths between 2021 and 2024 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Now, a new and potentially dangerous drug has entered the market: cychlorphine. Also a synthetic opioid, this designer substance was detected in three collected opioid samples in Toronto in October 2025. What makes officials concerned about this discovery is that its effects on the human body are still unknown. Early pharmacological analysis suggests it has a potency similar to fentanyl, making it a dangerous addition to an already treacherous illegal drug market.
Read More: Female Hormones Help the Body Produce Its Own Opioids to Handle Pain
Novel Opioid Found During Community Drug Checking
Several communities offer drug-checking services, tools that allow people to find out what’s actually in their drugs without fearing legal consequences, while also helping authorities monitor what’s circulating in the local market.
One of these services in Toronto detected cychlorphine in three opioid samples through on-site analysis using gold-standard technologies.
According to their report, the samples were expected to be hydromorphone (brand name Dilaudid), oxycodone (brand name OxyContin), and Percocet, a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. However, they consisted entirely of cychlorphine, not the drugs they were supposed to be.
What We Know About Cychlorphine
According to Toronto’s Drug Checking Service, cychlorphine is a synthetic opioid with unknown strength and effects. Synthetic opioids are entirely human-made and can be significantly more potent than natural opioids like morphine, unfortunately bringing a higher potential for addiction and overdose.
That’s why synthetic opioids follow strict prescription guidelines to reduce unwanted side effects and prevent illegal distribution for substance abuse.
To circumvent bans and other legal controls on specific synthetic opioids, illicit manufacturers often tweak chemical structures to create new substances that enter the market disguised as commonly known prescription pills. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and The Center for Forensic Science Research & Education (CFSRE), since 2024, several novel synthetic opioids, including cychlorphine, have been reported for the first time in Europe and the U.S., keeping public health authorities and law enforcement on high alert.
Cychlorphine’s Strength and Effects Are Unknown
No one yet knows the exact potency or side effects of cychlorphine, making it extremely difficult to assess its real risk. Like fentanyl, which is often unknowingly added to other illicit substances to heighten their addictive potential, users may not even realize they’re consuming this novel synthetic opioid.
In case of an overdose situation, experts say that naloxone, an opioid antagonist, should reverse the effects of cychlorphine, similar to other synthetic opioids.
Although detection is still rare, authorities continue to monitor the unregulated drug supply and keep communities informed about cychlorphine and how the trend develops.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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