Carfentanil-involved deaths are resurging in Maryland
The opioid was linked to a wave of 2017 fatalities before it suddenly faded from the illicit drug supply. But deaths associated with the substance have been rising for the last three years.
A bar chart showing how often the opioid carfentanil was detected during autopsies conducted by the Maryland Chief Medical Examiner’s office each year between 2017 and 2025.
The office recorded 66 carfentanil-involved deaths in 2017, followed by five years of very few such deaths. But the numbers began to grow in 2023, with 79 deaths linked to carfentanil in 2025, the most recent year available.
