Carfentanil Uses And Storage Compliance
Posted by Safe & Vault on Mar 30, 2015
Carfentanil is an analogue (or copy) of the commonly prescribed drug fentanyl. Carfentanil was designed in 1974 by a team at Janssen Pharmaceutica, which included Phil Janssen. The potency of Carfentanil is 10,000 times greater than morphine, and 100 times greater than fentanyl. It is one of the most potent opioid drugs manufactured today, and THE most potent opioid used commercially.
Carfentanil activity is noted in humans at a dosage as low as one microgram. Due to its extreme opioid effects, sufentanil (which is ten to twenty times less potent than Carfentanil) is the maximum strength of the drug used in the treatment of humans. Due to the extreme anesthetic effects, Carfentanil is used as a general anesthetic for large animals, and is sold under the name brand and generic labels of; Carfentanil, Carfentanil, Carfentanilum, Wildnil, and Carfentanyl.
Carfentanil is fast-acting, and extremely potent. It is most effective when delivered intramuscularly. Due to it’s low dose-to-effect ratio, it is easily used in darts when sedating wild (and sometimes dangerous) animals.
The opioid system of the brain consists of three gamma protein-coupled receptors; mu, delta, and kappa. Carfentanil acts primarily on the mu receptors, but also has some minor effects on the kappa and the gamma. The drug also acts as an agonist. An agonist is a chemical than binds to a receptor and activates the receptor to a biological response. In Carfentanil, this response occurs when calcium ion currents are released, potassium ion conductance is increased, and neurotransmitter release is inhibited. This combination of chemical reactions induces extreme sedation and analgesia. Carfentanil exerts its properties mainly on the central nervous system. Less extreme side effects are respiratory depression, depression of the cough reflex, and constriction of the pupils.
Security Requirements for Storage
Due to the extreme potency of Carfentanil, the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Diversion Control has explicit regulations for storing this drug. Under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, §1301.75 “Physical Security Controls for Practitioners” part (e) states, “Carfentanil, etorphine hydrochloride, and diprenorphine shall be stored in a safe or steel cabinet equivalent to a U.S. Government Class V security container.”
In order to maintain compliance with DEA regulations, a Class V security container must meet the following definition;
A class 5 safe, file cabinet or container is an uninsulated security container and protection provided is:
- 20 man-hours against surreptitious entry
- 10 man-minutes against forced entry
- 20 man-hours against radiological attack
- 30 man-minutes against covert entry.
It is important to note that different rules for storage and compliance with Schedule I and Schedule II narcotics and controlled substances may be subject to different storage requirements depending on your status as a practitioner or non-practitioner.
For more information please call 1-866-867-0306 and speak to a DEA Approved Safe Consultant and Advisor.