Death Toll Climbs as Fentanyl-Laced Heroin ODs Spread

[adzket]

i just hope this shit does not hit the uk it would be a disarster as it is knowen that addicts will seak out the sourse of drugs that have been linked to deaths is there anyway of telling it has been laced by looking at it and is there only a risk from injecting or smoking to?

[Fantasian]

With Fentanyl the dosages required to overdose are so small it doesnt really matter how it's administered it's going to cause death. Including smoking, injecting, snorting, sublingual, etc.

As far as i know the heroin laced with Fantanyl looks no differant to that not laced with it.

[robin_himself]

Fentanyl just keeps on hitting the news these days.....


Pittsburgh police have confiscated more than 1,000 packets of the type of fentanyl-laced heroin suspected of causing up to six overdose deaths in Allegheny County since Sunday, but it was unclear how much of a dent the seizure would put in the supply on the street.

During a news conference yesterday, police revealed few details about their activities -- including a large bust Monday in Hazelwood that netted 1,050 stamp bags of the deadly brand of heroin marked "Get High or Die Trying" -- but said a dramatic slowdown since Monday evening in 911 calls for heroin overdoses might be related.

However, some investigators believe the confiscation of 1,131 stamp bags overall of the potent heroin and two other types that have appeared in recent days might represent only a drop in the bucket of the lethal supply.

Despite the seizures, the street price remains at $10 to $15 a stamp bag, which could indicate that the amount of "Get High or Die Trying" available in Pittsburgh has not dried up.

With intense police scrutiny in Hazelwood and the Hill District, where the heroin has been concentrated, dealers are going underground, making it a bit more complicated for users to score their next fix.

Authorities cannot be certain that any deaths this week are related to overdoses of heroin until toxicology tests are completed to show the presence of drugs in the blood. That process could take weeks.

However, based on circumstances, it is believed that at least five fatalities among more than 40 people who have overdosed in Allegheny County since Sunday are related to a batch of heroin that police first became aware of Friday.

On Sunday, Joseph Zielinski, 45, of Penn Hills, was found dead in his Greenfield apartment. The next morning, Lynn A. Margavo, 30, was found dead in her home in the 5200 block of Gertrude Street in Hazelwood. An hour later, Dorothy Iannone, 56, of the 5100 block of Roma Way, also in Hazelwood, was found dead.

Yesterday at 12:25 a.m., Diane Pless, 20, of the 4700 block of Centre Avenue in Oakland was found dead by her boyfriend in her apartment. And at 1:20 a.m., Lawrence Jordan, 48, of Ravine Street in Munhall was pronounced dead in his bathroom after being discovered by his girlfriend.

In Mr. Jordan's case, investigators recovered a stamp bag. The name of the brand was unreadable, but it was in red ink, a hallmark of how "Get High or Die Trying" is packaged.

A sixth death in Aspinwall from yesterday was being looked at in connection with the heroin overdoses, but the Allegheny County Police are not convinced the case is linked.

The county's crime lab has concluded that fentanyl -- a painkiller 80 times stronger than morphine -- was present in one sample of "Get High or Die Trying." A sample of another brand called "Dynasty" also linked to recent overdoses tested positive only for heroin, said Dr. Frederick Fochtman, the county's chief toxicologist.

A third brand of heroin has come up in the investigation of the overdoses, but narcotics Cmdr. Maurita Bryant would not name it.

Police yesterday revised the number of suspected heroin overdoses being investigated. As of yesterday afternoon, there were 33 in the city and nine in the rest of Allegheny County. Two more possible cases emerged late yesterday. One involved an inmate at the intake area of the county jail yesterday afternoon. Last night, around 11 p.m., police and paramedics responded to an apartment in the 5700 block of Phillips Avenue in Squirrel Hill for a reported overdose. A white male in his 20s was taken to Mercy Hospital where he was expected to recover, paramedics said.


Overdose cases spreading
Non-fatal overdoses possibly connected to the laced heroin continued to spread to additional communities outside the city, including Clairton, Mt. Oliver and West Homestead. All the victims have been white and between 16 and 56 years old.

In the West Homestead case, a 20-year-old man from Castle Shannon was found Monday at 2:15 a.m. after shooting up in his car in a KFC parking lot on Eighth Avenue, West Homestead police Chief Christopher Deasy said.

The man was hospitalized, and two stamp bags were found. A woman in the car said the heroin was bought in Homestead, Chief Deasy said.

Homestead police Chief Jeff DeSimone said his officers have not encountered any overdose victims from the batch of heroin making the rounds -- yet.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed," Chief DeSimone said. But, he added, "It's kind of inevitable."

Dr. David Murray, senior policy analyst with the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, said the fentanyl-laced heroin has turned up in eight states and caused between 150 to 350 deaths nationwide.

He said the pattern of deaths, which started in Chicago and Philadelphia, is following known routes of heroin distribution.

The drugs flow into major cities like Chicago, which become hubs, and then trail out to smaller cites like spokes on bicycle wheels.

Dr. Murray said it would be hard to say what effect the closing of a drug lab in Mexico, which might be the source of the fentanyl, would have on the current overdose outbreak.

"We are trying to put out as much of a public health alert out there that says 'look there is something very risky out there,' " said Dr. Murray.


Fentanyl side effects
One of the side effects of fentanyl is that the body's muscles often instantaneously stiffen when it is injected into the bloodstream.

"It is so rapid acting that the addict is often found dead with the needle still stuck in their arm," he said.

Tom McElree, director of the regional Emergency Medical Services Institute, an agency that provides training and other services to emergency medical services in 10 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, said the Pennsylvania Department of Health received a notice April 25 of "opioid" overdoses that had occurred that month in New Jersey.

Those overdoses involved some heroin and a mixture of fentanyl or methylfentanyl and procaine, a version of the anesthetic lidocaine.

He said his office is working to get a handle on overdoses in the region and statewide so it can help paramedics and emergency service professionals react properly to the outbreak.

Pittsburgh narcotics and homicide detectives on Saturday launched a joint investigation of the new brand of lethal heroin. Detectives are interviewing overdose survivors. Three drug dealers have been arrested, but police would not provide their names.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is also involved, but DEA Special Agent Rick McGoldrick in Philadelphia declined to provide specifics.

Although there is an awareness among drug users that "Get High or Die Trying" might prove fatal, many are enticed by the prospect of an incredible high rather than scared away by the potentially lethal consequences.

"Individuals who are addicted to heroin are actively seeking this drug," Cmdr. Bryant said. "The word is out on the street that it's pretty much the ultimate high."

Lt. Kevin Kraus said hardcore users seem to be shrugging off efforts to steer them away from the powerful heroin.

"It doesn't seem that any warning is successful at all," Lt. Kraus said. "It's a very addictive drug, and it's in great demand right now."

Heroin addicts often lose the ability to get high on their normal doses and long for the euphoria that first drew them in. The increased potency of the fentanyl-laced heroin is nearly irresistible for serious users, who need more and more of the drug to satisfy their addiction and avoid pain, said Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director of Gateway Rehabilitation Center.

"They're looking for a stronger effect," he said. "Many people say, 'I started using to get high, and now I use to get by.' "

Even after they are treated for an overdose, users will often immediately return to the drug and even overdose again, trying to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms caused by reversal agents.

"It feels like the worse case of the flu you've ever had, times 10," Dr. Capretto said of withdrawal. "It's like having your head in a vise and knives in your stomach."

People who elect to use the new heroin are essentially playing Russian roulette, Dr. Capretto said, because it is impossible to determine whether the heroin has been laced with anything and how strong the drug will be.

"Addiction is not logical," said Dr. Capretto. "People will keep using. They say, 'I know I'll lose my job, my wife, my family, but I just can't stop.'"

www.post-gazette.com

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by robin_himself

1,050 stamp bags of the deadly brand of heroin marked "Get High or Die Trying"
"The word is out on the street that it's pretty much the ultimate high."

It seems as if someone is actively killing heroin addicts.

[Alicia]

Originally Posted by Alfa

It seems as if someone is actively killing heroin addicts.

There seems more to this that meets the eye. Why now all of a sudden with the fentayl added in to the heroin. it seems like theres a purpose for this. swia was speaking to someone about this she reckons, they may be doing this on purpose to kill as many people with it so in the end not that the gov will care. but maybe they are trying to do some thing like this to make the gov prescribe heroin to addicts in away of stopping the deaths..

Swia didn't agree with her. but then she does have a point. Would there be anyway of separating the fentayl from the heroin like when you purify street heroin you get rid of the contaminates . not that swia has this problem. but is there away of doing it, so swia can inform some people.
Dont care how technical it is.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good

[robin_himself]

Yet another about fentanyl....


With 14 deaths being linked by Chicago authorities to heroin laced with fentanyl in a two-day period last week, the nationwide death toll in a wave of ODs tied to the powerful synthetic opiate continues to rise. Although precise figures are hard to come by, Chicago authorities believe 75 people have died of the lethal combination there this year, while in Detroit, authorities put the number at more than 130 dead since last fall, including 33 in the past few weeks. Dozens more overdoses and fatalities have been reported in Atlanta, St. Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the New Jersey-Maryland-Delaware region.

After a slow initial reaction -- the first deaths were reported in September -- both state and federal authorities are beginning to respond. Local health officials in cities from Newark to Detroit have issued alerts, and Michigan public health workers are now engaged in an intensive street outreach program. But it is street-level harm reduction outreach workers who have led the way.

Detroit has been one of the hardest hit cities. "I think we had 58 deaths in the three weeks beginning in mid-May," said Ricardo Marble, lead trainer for substance abuse services for Detroit's Community Health Awareness Group, which runs drug user harm reduction programs, including a needle exchange, in the city. "On May 18, we had 12 deaths in one 24-hour-period, and we've had over 130 fentanyl-related deaths since the fall of 2005."

Marble and substance abuse workers across the state are hitting the streets in an effort to lessen the toll. On Thursday, there was an "emergency call to arms" for outreach workers, with workers across the state going out onto the streets to provide information about fentanyl and overdose protection where it is most needed.

"We went out with 30 people here in Detroit and targeted areas with high rates of injection drug use," said Marble. "We're distributing pamphlets we got from the Harm Reduction Coalition and getting that information into the hands of the community," he told DRCNet.

Two weeks ago, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a nationwide alert to outreach workers, treatment providers, and hospitals warning of the deadly problem. "Individuals involved in the public health need to be aware of this new dangerous drug combination," Dr. Westley Clark, director of SAMSHA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), said in the letter. "They need to be prepared to alert patients, clients and others to help save lives. After all, fentanyl is 50-100 times more powerful than morphine. When mixed with cocaine or heroin, the results can be lethal."

"We sent the letters to treatment providers, hospitals, and the like, alerting them to the existing problem and identifying both prevention and quick intervention methods," said a SAMSHA spokesperson. "We are encouraging people to work as part of a community, to share information," she told DRCNet.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta have also been involved, although less so than some might imagine. While the CDC sent a team to investigate the situation in Detroit two weeks ago, that is the limit of the agency's participation, said CDC spokeswoman Bernadette Burton. "The Michigan Department of Community Health requested our assistance, and we sent members of our epidemiological intelligence service to Detroit to assist state and local officials with autopsy reports and analysis to help them understand the overdoses and formulate prevention guidelines for clinicians and educators and the like," she told DRCNet.

That work is still ongoing, Burton said. As for help with the wave of overdoses, all the states have to do is ask. "We will be returning a final report to Michigan authorities, but no other state or municipality has asked for our assistance," she said.

"The public health response has been very disorganized," said Harm Reduction Coalition medical director Dr. Sharon Stancliff, who also runs the group's SKOOP (Skills and Knowledge on Overdose Prevention) program, which teaches users how to administer the opiate antidote naloxone. "I am glad to see that it has risen to the level of attention where SAMSHA has finally responded and the CDC has been involved, but it is disturbing that it takes a spike in deaths to get everyone's attention," she told DRCNet. "ODs are a fact of life, and we need to focus on the ODs in general, not just dealing with fentanyl, but dealing with overdoses as a true public health problem."

State and federal law enforcement has also been hard at work. After an early round of ODs in the Philadelphia and Camden areas last month, police cracked down on dealers peddling the fentanyl-heroin combo, and last week, federal drug czar John Walters held a loudly ballyhooed press conference to announce that DEA agents working with Mexican lawmen had busted a lab in Guadalajara that may -- or may not -- have been the source of the lethal combo.

This week, the DEA organized a two-day, invitation only, no-press brainstorming session Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago to "coordinate worldwide investigative efforts aimed at identifying and dismantling the drug trafficking organizations responsible for the diversion, illicit production, and/or distribution of fentanyl," according to the DEA's announcement. The conference brought together representatives from more than a dozen states, Mexico, the drug czar's office, and the CDC. While the DEA confab paid lip service to actually preventing and reducing overdose deaths through public health measures, its overwhelming emphasis was on law enforcement.

That is part of the problem, said Dan Bigg of the Chicago Recovery Alliance (CRA), an organization that does needle exchange, mobile methadone maintenance, and other harm reduction programs in the Windy City. "What we think is going on is that the destabilization of drug markets by the police has produced the more regular use of fentanyl as a public relations move by dealers to attract new users, and that's caused a one or two notch increase in the purity of heroin on the streets," said Bigg. But the abnormal rate of overdoses has occurred only in the past few weeks, he told DRCNet, suggesting there is an element of hype involved. "We don't really know what's going on," he said. "We don't have the evidence that this is a new problem."

A law enforcement focus will not solve the problem, said Bigg. "They haven't seemed to have achieved anything with enforcement. DEA street level buys will show increased purity, and that's the same as them basically acknowledging they are losing. In recent weeks, we've seen a genuine increase in the overdose rate, and that is most probably related to the purity level of the heroin."

There are measures that have been proven to work to reduce overdoses and overdose deaths, Bigg suggested. "We need a massive expansion of opiate substitution therapy," he said. "There is clear evidence that that does more to reduce overdose levels than anything else. We also need the development and proliferation of safe injection sites. There is substantial evidence from around the globe that the sites reduce community overdose levels. And we need opiate antidotes, but the government won't fund them, even though we've seen 400 heroin OD death reversals with these drugs since we started in 2001."

But CRA wasn't part of the DEA-sponsored fentanyl conclave. "We are the most hands-on group in the city on this, and they didn't even invite us to the meeting," said Bigg.

www.stopthedrugwar.org

[robin_himself]

As Death Toll from Fentanyl-laced Heroin Continues to Rise, Senator Richard Durbin Introduces Federal Legislation to Save Lives

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced groundbreaking legislation today that would establish a federal grant program to help states prevent overdose deaths from legal and illegal drugs. The legislation comes in the wake of more than 100 deaths in recent months from fentanyl-laced heroin around the country.

“Many policymakers have been sitting on their hands while our country’s sons and daughters die from drug overdoses, but Sen. Durbin has taken decisive action to save lives,” said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Congress has the responsibility to pass legislation that will empower local communities to reduce overdose deaths and save thousands of lives.”

Drug policy experts report that recent fentanyl-related deaths, as well as many of the thousands of overdose-related deaths that occur every year, are completely preventable. Ample scientific evidence indicates that the overdose death rate could be cut substantially with modest public health measures and changes in public policy, such as:

targeting prevention education at specific high-risk populations
coordinating efforts among ambulances, police and other first-responder services
establishing emergency “Good Samaritan” policies that shield people who are using alcohol or other drugs from prosecution after calling 911 when they seek help for a friend
training people in CPR and rescue breathing
making naloxone (the antidote to opiate overdose) more widely available.
These and other policies have shown success in cities across the country, including Albuquerque, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. In particular, New Mexico is seen as a national model on how a state can employ public health measures to consistently reduce drug overdoses and save lives. In a year, hundreds of lives were saved through New Mexico’s overdose prevention measures.

Unfortunately, the federal government dedicates no funding at all to overdose prevention, and few states have implemented comprehensive statewide programs to respond to the growing problems. Fiscal restraints and legal barriers, such as laws that limit the use of overdose reversal agents, are hampering efforts to save lives in cities across the country.

Durbin’s bill, known as the Drug Overdose Reduction Act, is a groundbreaking step forward in overdose prevention effort. The legislation would, for the first time, make federal money available for programs that provide overdose prevention, treatment, and response training. It would also require the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to develop a comprehensive plan for reducing overdose deaths, including identifying state and federal barriers to implementing effective overdose prevention strategies.

“It is a tragedy that so many families have lost loved ones to overdose deaths. The good news is that there are concrete ways to reduce drug-related deaths,” said Piper. “It is time for our elected officials to show that they value life and are committed to saving lives.”

www.drugpolicy.org