(KUTV) Federal officials have motioned to place the potentially deadly drug known as U-47700 or ‘Pinky’ on the federal drug schedule which could give law enforcement teeth as they try to curb what they call a potential ‘overdose epidemic’.

Utah law enforcement suspects U-47700 killed two teenage boys in Park City this week. While toxicology tests are underway, school district officials and Park City Police said they fear Grant Siver, 13 and his best friend Ryan Ainsworth, 13, used U-47700 prior to their deaths.

When the Drug Enforcement Agency’s motion takes effect next month, U-47700 will be classified among other addictive drugs like Heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy.

The drug is responsible for dozens of deaths across the country in the last few years, according to Utah Department of Health Epidemiologist Ana Fondario, who added that state officials are still studying the relatively unknown drug.

While unable to confirm exact numbers out of concern for privacy, Fondario said Utah has confirmed deaths related to U-47700.

“We don’t really know the dangers because of the newness of it,” Fondario said. “It’s a synthetic opioid that’s emerging.”

Federal officials express the same concerns about how little information is known about the drug.

“Due to limited scientific data, the potency and toxicity of U-47700 are not known; however, the toxic effects of U-47700 in humans are demonstrated by overdose fatalities associated with this substance,” the DEA wrote in their recent filing with the Department of Justice.

DEA officials also warn that users of Pink may not know the origin, identity, or purity of the drug they are taking which can quickly lead to overdosing.

The DEA’s placement of U-47700 as a Schedule I drug would be temporary, and further legislative action would be needed to permanently classify the drug as illegal, according to the DEA’s filing.

Regardless of legality, Utah cops are warning people to avoid the drug and especially warning parents to make sure children do not come into contact with ‘pinky’.

“Certainly our goal is to stop this from happening to anyone else’s children,” said Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter at a press conference Tuesday.

Park City Police received anonymous tips about the drug and investigators found recent social media posts referencing the drug, Carpenter added.

“It’s easy for these kids to obtain,” Carpenter said.

The ease of access to the drug is coupled with recent cases where police say large quantities of the drug have been discovered along the Wasatch Front.

In June, a Sandy motel was evacuated after parole agents discovered a violator in a room containing a powder substance later confirmed as Fentanyl, which is similar to, and often used along with U-47700.