China White is originally a street name for a very pure form of heroin. It was likely called China White Heroin because it was first imported from China. Pure heroin also looks like white powder.
A new form of fentanyl — alpha-methylfentanyl — was discovered in California in the 1980s, according to a 1981 study published in Analytical Chemistry. Some dealers are believed to have mixed alpha-methylfentanyl with China White heroin during that time period. That may be how alpha-methylfentanyl came to be known as China White.
Street names for drugs change over time, and some people started calling any form of fentanyl the nickname China White.
Today, it’s impossible to know what’s in China White that’s bought on the street. Drugs named China White have been linked to heroin overdose deaths across the United States. People who buy China White may think they’re buying heroin. But end up using a drug that’s much stronger than they anticipated.
China White Overdoses
Using any type of heroin is dangerous. It’s impossible for most people to know what’s in the powder that they’re about to snort or inject. White heroin is particularly dangerous because it’s easy for dealers to conceal fentanyl or similarly colored drugs in the white powder.
Black tar heroin and brown heroin are less likely to contain fentanyl because it’s hard to conceal fentanyl in those drugs. However, no type of heroin is 100 percent safe.
In 2015, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that heroin laced with fentanyl is being sold as China White in the northeast United States. Numerous newspapers and media outlets have reported on overdose outbreaks across the United States since 2015.
