(205) 594-4152. WELL, TONIGHT, NEW CONCERNS GROWING AFTER THE DANGEROUS DRUG CARFENTANIL WAS REPORTEDLY FOUND IN WALKER COUNTY. YEAH, IT’S A DRUG THAT’S CHEMICALLY RELATED TO FENTANYL AND CAN AND IT CAN BE MUCH DEADLIER THAN IT TO OFFICIALS WITH THE WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT SAY THEY FOUND THE DRUG EARLIER THIS WEEK. DONALD SMITH IS NOW BEHIND BARS FOR HAVING IT. HE’S ALSO FACING OTHER DRUG RELATED CHARGES. WVTM 13, CHIP SCARBOROUGH SPOKE WITH HEALTH EXPERTS ABOUT THE DANGEROUS TRENDS SURROUNDING CARFENTANIL. THEY TELL HIM WHILE IT’S NOT AS PREVALENT AS OTHER OPIOIDS, IT’S STILL A CONCERN. EXPERTS SAY CARFENTANIL IS CHEMICALLY RELATED TO FENTANYL, ALTHOUGH IT’S ABOUT 20 TIMES MORE POTENT IF YOU INGEST IT, IT’S GOING TO BE GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF CAUSING AN OVERDOSE. DR. STEFAN KURTZ WITH UAB’S DIVISION OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN NO OVERDOSE DEATHS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY INVOLVING CAR FENTANYL. AND HE SAYS THERE’S NO MEDICAL USE FOR CAR FENTANYL IN HUMANS EITHER. FENTANYL HAS BEEN USED BY VETERINARIANS TO TRANQUILIZE LARGE ANIMALS AND SOMETIMES IT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT’S PUT INTO THE DRUG SUPPLY BY DRUG DEALERS OR DISTRIBUTORS WHO WANT TO MAKE PRODUCT MORE POTENT. DR. COTÉ SAYS HE IS AWARE OF A REPORT OF THE LETHAL DRUG BEING FOUND IN A DRUG SUPPLY IN WALKER COUNTY. BUT HE SAYS OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION IS STILL NEEDED. HE ALSO SAYS FENTANYL REMAINS A PRIMARY CONCERN FOR NOW. RIGHT, FENTANYL SEEMS TO BE EVERYWHERE AND I WOULD NOT EXPECT CAR FENTANYL TO REPLACE IT. EXPERTS SAY FENTANYL IS ALREADY SUCH A POTENT DRUG THAT IT WOULD BE HARD FOR PEOPLE TO SWITCH TO SOMETHING 20 TIMES MORE POTENT, LIKE CAR FENTANYL IN OUR CURRENT MARKET. OCCASIONALLY DIFFERENT KINDS OF JUNK DRUGS APPEAR IN THE SUPPLY BECAUSE DISTRIBUTORS AND DEALERS CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT WHEN THE MARKET IS COMPLETELY UNREGULATED. AT THE SAME TIME, HE SAYS, DEALERS AND DISTRIBUTORS DON’T HAVE A LOT OF INCENTIVE TO USE SOMETHING AS LETHAL AS CAR. FENTANYL I