Deadly Opioids Hit Billings

The opioid abuse epidemic, now officially a public health crisis, has not spared Montana, with powerful, deadly drugs now hitting the region. Fentanyl is a synthetic opiod between 50 and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Carfentanil is a fentanyl analogue used to tranquilize large animals like elephants. Carfentanil showed up recently in lab results following an overdose death, according to Billings Police Sgt. Brandon Wooley.