Keith Humphries notes that recent studies have discovered that people who die from overdoses of opioids, including heroin, don’t tend to have taken overly large doses or to have taken a “bad” batch that included impurities they may not have known about. The problem with opioids is mainly the opioids themselves.
Having noted this, however, I can’t say that I am particularly pleased to learn that my community now has to contend with a nasty batch of fentanyl-laced heroin.
Police said several additional search warrants that were executed after the arrests led to additional heroin seizures. According to Chester County District Attorney’s Office officials, the seizure was the first time that fentanyl-laced heroin was discovered in Chester County during the course of a criminal drug investigation. Fentanyl-laced heroin has been previously discovered in the county following drug overdoses, officials said.
Back in January, more than a dozen people died in Western Pennsylvania after taking fentanyl-laced heroin. So, it may not show up as a statistically significant problem, but it’s still a problem,. Apparently, fentanyl is currently the most widely used synthetic opioid. It’s much stronger than heroin or morphine, with the result that it increases the likelihood that users will simply stop breathing.
Yet, as Mr. Humphries says, the threat from any opioid is very high without adding anything stronger. If you have any opioids around the house, take them to your nearest police station or simply dispose of them on our own.
The opioid epidemic has now reached a level almost equal to the AIDS crisis of the 1980’s, with the same level of stigma attached.