Opinion | Michigan must stay ahead of synthetic opioid cychlorphine before cases appear

Michigan has not identified cychlorphine in overdose surveillance, and state health officials say no public alert has been issued because no confirmed detection has occurred. That is reassuring, but only up to a point. What neighboring states are showing is that with emerging synthetic opioids, confirmed absence can reflect laboratory timing as much as actual drug supply.

Brandon L. Burley is a retired detective, criminal justice educator and journalist whose reporting examines public safety systems, forensic practice and public policy across multiple states. (Courtesy photo)

Cychlorphine — formally known as N-propionitrile chlorphine — belongs to a newer group of highly potent laboratory-made opioids that forensic laboratories across the country have begun watching more closely.

Laboratory analysis has indicated potency approximately 10 times stronger than fentanyl, and officials in East Tennessee say it has now been linked to at least 41 overdose deaths across multiple counties. Confirmed toxicology findings have also appeared in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas, while additional states are adjusting surveillance and toxicology methods even where no fatal cases have been confirmed.

For Michigan, the larger issue is that new synthetic opioids often appear in forensic systems before they appear in public health reporting.

Routine toxicology usually begins with immunoassay screening, a fast method built to identify familiar drug classes. But compounds like cychlorphine may not consistently trigger those basic screens. Detecting them often requires expanded laboratory analysis using time-of-flight mass spectrometry, which identifies specific molecular signatures rather than broad drug categories.

That distinction is not theoretical here.

In response to my direct questions, the Macomb County Medical Examiner’s Office said its toxicology testing, performed through NMS Labs, has not identified cychlorphine in local cases. Officials said NMS Labs is monitoring for the compound through its surveillance library and that detection depends on expanded screening by time-of-flight mass spectrometry rather than basic immunoassay.

If a sample suggests cychlorphine, confirmation may still require referral through specialized forensic channels while laboratories continue developing internal confirmation methods.

That is not evidence of a hidden Michigan problem. It is evidence that modern overdose surveillance depends heavily on whether laboratories are looking deeply enough to identify what routine screens can miss.

Also in response to direct questions, Michigan health officials said the state would distinguish cychlorphine from other synthetic opioids if confirmed, but that only confirmed detections enter official reporting. In practical terms, a substance can remain absent from statewide surveillance until the analytical steps needed to confirm it are complete.

Overdose reporting almost always trails forensic discovery.

A laboratory may recognize a compound before dashboards, summaries or public alerts reflect it. That gap is common whenever new synthetic drugs emerge, especially when they appear alongside fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine or other substances that complicate toxicology interpretation.

National forensic alerts have already shown cychlorphine appearing in mixed-drug toxicology cases, which is one reason laboratories rather than headlines often provide the first reliable signal that a substance is entering wider circulation.

Michigan does not need alarm over cychlorphine right now. There is no evidence of a confirmed outbreak here, and state officials are correct not to overstate what has not been identified.

But Michigan does need confidence that expanded toxicology pathways, medical examiners and public health reporting remain aligned before a rare compound becomes common enough to force reactive decisions.

The practical lesson from neighboring states is simple: laboratory readiness matters most before confirmation becomes routine.

By the time a synthetic opioid becomes easy to count, it has usually already been present long enough to demand attention.