San Francisco officials announced Monday the arrests of four suspected drug dealers following the overdose death of a 16-year-old Nob Hill resident. Authorities said the teen is the first known victim linked to the drug, identified as cychlorphine.
"The medical examiner found cychlorphine in the teenager's system, a new synthetic opioid even more powerful than fentanyl," San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said.
According to officials, the drug is so new that it is not currently considered illegal in California. San Francisco officials also said available test kits do not detect it, increasing concerns about its spread.
MORE: San Francisco records 1st overdose death caused by new deadly opioid cychlorphine
In an article published by The New York Times, the teen's mother said she found her son in his bedroom with "Black fluid oozed out of his nose and mouth and pooled on his sheets."
"We are going to go after the people that sell it," Mayor Lurie said.
Police said an investigation led to the arrests of four suspects.
"A monthslong investigation that culminated in the arrest of four suspects, the seizure of three firearms and over 20,000 counterfeit pills," San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew said.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called on state lawmakers to move quickly to add cychlorphine to California's list of illegal drugs.
"We need the California State Legislature to act swiftly to make sure that this is a drug that is added to the list of many others, including fentanyl, that is illegal in the state of California. So that we can more clearly and without any legal obstacle, charge those who are in possession of it for sale," Jenkins said.
MORE: SF overdose deaths decline as public health officials expand treatment, drug monitoring
Officials also addressed potential penalties facing the four suspects.
According to the California prison population dashboard, fewer than nine people were sent to prison in San Francisco for drug offenses in 2025.
"I want to be clear that drug charges in the state of California are not prison-eligible," Jenkins said. "Those people serve their time in county jail based on the restructuring of the way that we punish people in the state and not send people to prison for these types of nonviolent offenses. But I do believe that there has to be accountability."
Health officials said Narcan should still be used to reverse overdoses involving the new opioid, though they cautioned that the time frame for effective treatment can be short. The teens' mother reportedly administered the medication twice.
"The time frame in which naloxone, also known as that by the brand name Narcan, works is when a person may have either significantly slowed their breathing or stopped their breathing," said Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health Services and Mental Health SF at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
San Francisco officials said this is the only overdose currently connected to cychlorphine. However, they warned the threat could be more widespread because existing test strips do not have the capacity to detect the drug.