WARNINGS of Dangerous Drug Batches

[neversickanymore]

Bad batch of party drug GHB hits weekend clubbers with at least 8 hospitalised
APRIL 18, 20164:12PM

A DOCTOR has issued a warning about party drug GHB after a “bad batch” saw at least eight hospitalised in Sydney this weekend, with one person dying.

The first patient, a young woman, was admitted to St Vincent’s in Darlinghurst on Friday after she was found on the street with a bruise on her head. Three partygoers brought in on Saturday are still in intensive care, while a fourth required resuscitation.
Another patient who arrived on Sunday also remains in the ICU, while one died after they arrived at the hospital.

“This is the danger of taking street drugs,” director of emergency Gordian Fulde told news.com.au. “If anybody’s got any G, put it down the toilet. It’s a bad batch that could kill you.
“This is a prime example of how these things aren’t worth dying for.”

GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate), and its more potent variant GBL (gammabutyrolactone), is a highly addictive chemical anaesthetic, sold as a colourless, odourless liquid. Also known as “coma in a bottle”, Fantasy or Gina, it can cause loss of consciousness, memory loss and respiratory problems.

It is particularly dangerous when combined with other depressants, such as alcohol, and is sometimes used as a date rape drug.

“It’s very easy to overdose on this drug,” Geoff Munroe, national policy manager at the Australian Drug Foundation, told news.com.au.

“Especially when you’re taking it from the street, since you don’t know how strong it is.

“It slows the breathing. An overdose can result in dying because you’ve stopped breathing.

“There’s very little room between a therapeutic dose and an overdose. It’s a very strong substance that can quickly shut down the body.”
Mr Munroe said only a small proportion of Australians are believed to have taken GHB, less than one per cent, but Australian Federal Police have been coming across more of the drug at the border.

The Australian Border Force made a record seizure of the drug last December, when a 37-year-old allegedly tried to smuggle 62 litres of GBL into the country.
“This is a dangerous substance, capable of ruining many lives in a single incident,” said ABF Regional Commander NSW Tim Fitzgerald at the time.

Last August, Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund found that French millionaire David Monlun, 40, had either overdosed accidentally or was deliberately given a dangerous dose of GHB by his on-off girlfriend at his Sydney home.

cont http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/he...d/news-story/13d5be6bd9669f961210fd0ec13b5572

 

[neversickanymore]

Lorain County officials attribute overdoses to drugs stronger than heroin or fentanyl

By Chanda Neely, cleveland.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 26, 2016 at 10:19 AM, updated April 26, 2016 at 10:29 AM
ELYRIA, Ohio — As the number of deaths from heroin and fentanyl overdoses continue to climb, public health officials are now seeing evidence of two much stronger and potentially deadlier synthetic opiates in parts of northeast Ohio.

The Lorain County Chief's Law Enforcement Association said that drugs recovered by first responders at the scene of overdoses within the past three weeks tested positive for drugs known as U-47700 and 3-Methylfentanyl.

"Our concern is that the potency of these two substances will lead to an increase in overdoses and deaths in Lorain County," according to a public health notice.

Officials at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office said that they've heard of the drugs surfacing in Lorain and Lake counties, but there have been no deaths in Cuyahoga County attributed to either drug.

U-47700 is 7 1/2 times stronger than morphine, and 3-Methylfentanyl, a more powerful version of fentanyl, is 7,000 times more potent than morphine. By comparison, fentanyl is considered between 50-100 times stronger than morphine, according to narcon.org.

Paramedics responded to 10 heroin and fentanyl overdoses in Amherst, Elyria and Lorain last week. More than half of those happened Tuesday, LifeCare Vice President Herb de la Porte said.

A Lorain County crime lab identified 3-Methylfentanyl in two heroin cases in Elyria two weeks ago.

The paramedics are equipped to use Narcan in the event of a heroin or fentanyl overdose. Several first responders noticed that it took double doses of the drug to revive the patients. Though they can't be sure if the patients took U-47700 or 3-Methylfentanyl without blood tests.

"The sign of an overdose is a coma, pinpoint pupils, and not breathing," de la Porte said. "This substance is a lot harder to get out of them."

Paramedics in Lorain County used 18 doses of Narcan on 10 patients between Sunday and Thursday. Paramedics used 14 of those last Tuesday alone, de la Porte said. None of the patients died.

http://www.cleveland.com/elyria/index.ssf/2016/04/lorain_county_officials_attrib.html

 

[neversickanymore]

“Bad Batch” of Heroin Circulating in Dubuque
April 12, 2016

Authorities in Dubuque aren’t sure if several recent drug overdoses are related to a so-called “bad batch” of heroin making its way through the community. According to Dubuque Police, there’s been a spike in overdoses in the past week. Department spokesman Lt. Scott Baxter says investigators are working to determine if some of the recent deaths are related to the altered drugs. While purchasing and using illegal drugs always carries a certain amount of risk, Baxter says heroin’s purity can be altered so much that it becomes even more dangerous. Baxter says there’s no “silver bullet” that will cure Dubuque’s growing heroin problem.

http://kdth.radiodubuque.com/bad-batch-heroin-circulating-dubuque/

 

[neversickanymore]

Teenage girl dies after taking ‘MasterCard’ ecstasy
Richard Hartley-ParkinsonRichard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.ukMonday 2 May 2016


A teenage girl has died after allegedly taking an ecstasy drug known as MasterCard.
Police are urging anyone who may have taken the drug, pictured above, to seek medical attention immediately.


The girl was found at 5am this morning at Victoria Warehouse in Trafford, Greater Manchester, after it is believed she took one of the drugs while on a night out.

She was taken to hospital where she later died.

The incident is believed to have happened at a club night called Don’t Let Daddy Know.

Detective Inspector Helen Bell from GMP’s Trafford Division said: ‘This is a tragic situation, the death of a young person is always devastating, but in these circumstances, it is all the more heart breaking. My thoughts are with her family and friends at this time.

Sadly we know it is very unlikely that the girl was the only person to have taken this drug last night.
‘We are appealing to anyone who may have taken this form of ecstasy, known as ‘MasterCard’ to get checked out urgently. Even if you took it some hours ago, this pill will still be in your system and could be seriously harming your health.


Anyone with any information about what happened or where this drug may have come from is asked to contact police as soon as possible.’
Event organisers say on their website: ‘Victoria Warehouse do NOT condone the use of drugs at their events. As a condition of entry everyone will be searched on the way in. We have a zero tolerance policy for anyone found with drugs on their person.’
‘Victoria Warehouse are extremely concerned about customers using such drugs. No drugs are safe but if you do take drugs please wait for them to take effect before taking more. Mixing drugs with alcohol can also be extremely dangerous.
‘There is a welfare / medic area on site for all of our events at the Victoria Warehouse. If you or a friend feels at all unwell throughout the night, please come and find a member of staff to help.’


Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/02/teena...ing-mastercard-ecstasy-5854179/#ixzz47WrfkxDy

 

[poledriver]

^ Another article.

Girl's death after taking 'MasterCard' ecstasy prompts police warning

Police urge anyone who may have taken particular form of drug to seek medical attention after teenager dies in Manchester

A teenage girl has died in Greater Manchester after taking ecstasy at a sold-out clubbing event attended by up to 5,000 people, prompting police to warn others who may have taken the drug to urgently seek medical attention.

The girl, aged 17, had an adverse reaction to a form of ecstasy known as “MasterCard” in the early hours of Monday at Victoria Warehouse in Trafford, Greater Manchester police said. She died in hospital a short time later.

She is believed to have taken the small pink pill at an event called Don’t Let Daddy Know (DLDK).

DI Helen Bell from the police force’s Trafford division said: “We are appealing to anyone who may have taken this form of ecstasy, known as ‘MasterCard’, to get checked out urgently. Even if you took it some hours ago, this pill will still be in your system and could be seriously harming your health.”

She added: “This is a tragic situation – the death of a young person is always devastating – but in these circumstances, it is all the more heartbreaking. My thoughts are with her family and friends at this time.

“Sadly we know it is very unlikely that the girl was the only person to have taken this drug last night.”

DLDK kicked off at 9pm on Sunday and ran until 6am on Monday. Police officers were called to the venue at 5am following reports the teenage girl had fallen ill.

According to the Victoria Warehouse website, DLDK featured “world entertainment, cutting-edge production and mind-blowing special effects”. The DJ lineup included Showtek, Blasterjaxx, Don Diablo, Laidback Luke, Ummet Ozcan, Florian Picasso, Sem Vox, and Third Party.

Anyone with information about what happened or where the drug came from is urged to call police on 0161 8567662 or 101, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The teenager’s death comes just over a month after that of a 16-year-old, Sky Nicol, who died in Darwen, Lancashire, after she was suspected of taking ecstasy.

Lancashire Police said that they believed she had taken “a quantity of drugs” before she died after suffering a “suspected cardiac arrest”. A 16-year-old girl was later arrested on suspicion of supplying ecstasy.

The deaths of three men in Suffolk and a fourth in Telford, Shropshire, were blamed last year on a batch carrying the Superman motif.

Suffolk police offered a temporary drug amnesty to anyone who surrendered the red or pink tablets of ecstasy, inscribed with a Superman-style “S” in their centre.

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Investigators believe that the pills involved were made with a high concentration of the chemical PMMA instead of MDMA, usually the main component of ecstasy.

Three of the deaths included those of John Hocking, 20, from Rendlesham, Justas Ropas, 22, who was living in Ipswich and Gediminas Kulokas, 24, who was also living in the town. They all died over the Christmas and New Year period last year.

A verdict of accidental drug related deaths in the cases of all three men was recorded last September by a coroner in Suffolk, Peter Dean, who said that the they showed the extreme hazards of drug use.

“Even if other people you know have taken (drugs) without adverse effects you do not know you will not succumb,” he added.

“People consuming them do not know the effects of that individual tablet on them.”

The use of ecstasy, as well as LSD, among young adults spiked in the two years up to a survey which was published last July. Its results indicated the numbers taking the drugs in the previous 12 months were up 84% and 175% respectively.

Compared to the two years before, an estimated 157,000 more people aged 16-24 took ecstasy over the year leading up to the publication of the statistics from the Crime Survey of England and Wales.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...pts-police-warning?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet

 

[neversickanymore]

Three rushed to hospital as cops warn of batch of bad drugs on sale
May 2, 2016 8:00am
CHRIS McMAHON

POLICE are warning there is a batch of bad drugs circulating in Townsville, with three people taken to hospital in a critical condition after taking the pills at Groovin The Moo.

The drugs are understood to be called Purple Ram and MKR, and it is believed the three people who were rushed to hospital from the music festival had taken the drugs.

The Bulletin understands one of the three was placed into intensive care, while the other two were taken to hospital in a critical condition.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.a...e/news-story/2158816f5b18951949ca15e09397a1ba

 

[neversickanymore]

3 die, 10 treated in weekend heroin overdoses in Fitchburg

By Paula J. Owen
Telegram & Gazette Staff

Posted May. 2, 2016 at 7:47 PM
Updated at 2:57 PM

FITCHBURG – Three people died and at least 10 others were treated in a spike of heroin overdoses over the weekend.
By Saturday, three people died of heroin overdoses and at least 10 others were treated, according to Deputy Fire Chief Gregg J. Normandin.

There was also an overdose on Sunday, he said.

The deputy chief said that number was well above normal in the 28-square-mile city, which has a population of about 40,000.

“It is a high amount on average,” the deputy chief said.

The calls came in from all over the city, he said.

“I don’t know if it was a bad batch or spiked with something,” he said. “All across the country we’re seeing a larger amount of heroin use. It is not isolated to Fitchburg or the Northeast. Heroin is a cheap drug and it is abundant.”

On Saturday, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. and Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest F. Martineau issued a warning online of a dangerous batch of heroin being used in Fitchburg over the weekend. The warning was issued after Fitchburg police had reported two deadly heroin overdoses on Friday and six overdoses on Saturday within an eight-hour period.

“People who are addicted to heroin and their families and friends should be aware that heroin on the streets of Fitchburg this weekend could cause an overdose or death,” the advisory said.

EMTs carry Narcan, an opiate antidote, that they can administer nasally or with auto-injectors, he said. More often they are using more than one dose to revive those who had overdosed, Mr. Normandin said.

“It could be a heroin dealer is running low on supply and starts cutting it,” he said. “The dose is weaker and people take more to try and get the same high. It takes more Narcan to bring them out of it. If we give them a dose or two, paramedics can give it to them with IVs directly into their veins and the hospital can evaluate them and augment that with more under a doctor’s care.”

http://www.telegram.com/article/20160502/NEWS/160509827

..................................................................

2 dead, 6 overdose on 'bad' heroin
By Anna Burgess, aburgess [MENTION=7976]Sentinel[/MENTION]andenterprise.com
UPDATED: 05/01/2016 06:43:43 AM EDT

FITCHBURG -- Police are investigating a particularly dangerous batch of heroin that reportedly killed two people Friday night and caused six more overdoses on Saturday.

Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest Martineau and Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early are warning the public about dangerous heroin being used in the city this weekend, according to a Saturday afternoon press release from the DA's Office.

"There's something going on, above and beyond what we're seeing normally," said Martineau. "We're trying to root out the cause and attack it as best we can."

Police reported eight suspected overdoses, two of them fatal, in a 24-hour period. The six reported overdoses on Saturday all occurred within an eight-hour period.

Martineau said the department hasn't confirmed these overdoses were caused by the same batch of heroin, "but when we see this type of uptick, logic says it's a bad batch."

On Saturday afternoon, he was at the Fitchburg Police Station with investigative unit supervisors and the Drug Enforcement Unit, going over the eight overdose reports and "seeing if they have anything in common."

The press release warned: "People who are addicted to heroin, and their families and friends, should be aware that heroin on the streets of Fitchburg this weekend could cause overdose or death."



Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_29836472/2-dead-6-overdose-bad-heroin#ixzz47dDnpVBW

 

[neversickanymore]

'Party drugs' warning reissued after pair collapse in Manchester
Two women left unconscious after taking ‘Lego’ ecstasy pills at Manchester club, just days after ‘MasterCard’ death

Police have repeated their warning about taking “party drugs” after two women were taken to hospital after using ecstasy.

Greater Manchester police said the two 21-year-olds were left unconscious after taking the pills while at a nightclub on Princess Street in Manchester city centre. The pills were believed to be MDMA tablets called “Lego” because they were in the shape of a red Lego brick.

It is the second warning within a week, the first having been issued over ecstasy pills known as “MasterCard”. Police urged anyone who may have taken one of the pills to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

GMP were notified shortly after 1.30am on Saturday by the ambulance service that the pair, from Stockport, were having an adverse reaction. They were unconscious when emergency services arrived, but regained consciousness in the ambulance and were taken to hospital for treatment.

continued http://www.theguardian.com/society/...r-collapse-manchester-lego-ecstasy-pills-mdma

 

[neversickanymore]

Deadly counterfeit drugs coming to Georgia from China
by: Tom Regan Updated: May 24, 2016 - 6:47 PM

ATLANTA —
Drug overdose deaths are surging in metro Atlanta and across Georgia.

Some of the drugs causing the deaths are being smuggled into the United States from China, authorities say.

Channel 2’s Tom Regan recent got an exclusive look at the intensive efforts to intercept the drugs at the Port of Savannah.

Federal officers at the Port of Savannah recently seized hundreds of pounds of cocaine worth millions of dollars.

Now they’re looking for counterfeit pills made to look like painkillers. In reality, they’re far more potent and potentially deadly.

The primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is making sure what’s coming off the ships doesn’t pose a danger.

In recent weeks, customs officers in Miami seized packages containing synthetic drugs, including Ecstasy and illegal fentanyl manufactured overseas, primarily in China.

Fentanyl is a deadly opioid 50 times stronger than morphine. In pill form, it’s made to look like Oxycontin or other prescribed painkillers.

Chuck Miller’s son died after taking just two fentanyl pills.

“You never expect your son to die before you do,” Miller said. “There’s not an hour that goes by that I don’t think about it.”

Regan joined customs officers as they inspected containers on an incoming ship.

“We’re going after high-risk shipments,” Lisa Beth Brown said.

The goal is to check the seals and see if any have been tampered with.

“Sometimes, we’ll just open what we can open. You never know what you’re going to find,” Kelly Graham of Customs and Border Patrol said.

In addition to on-board inspections, officers scan containers with an X-ray machine.

“We’re basically looking for anomalies -- something that’s out of the norm,” Vontez Ferguson of Customs and Border Patrol said. “That could be drugs, or something that is not manifested correctly.”

If the X-ray detects something suspicious packed deep in the container, it’s taken to a warehouse to be unpacked.

In one container, agents didn’t find counterfeit drugs. But they found something else that poses a health danger to children: pens and packets containing high levels of lead.

“You can see the health and safety risk for children that might put them in their mouths or something like said,” said Sonna McWilliams of Customs and Border Patrol.

Brown, the area port director, said the effort to intercept synthetic drugs is gaining urgency as the death toll rises.

“What we are looking for is anything that could be a threat to our safety, security or health in the United States,” Brown said.

cont with video http://www.wsbtv.com/news/2-investi...-drugs-coming-to-georgia-from-china/300037773

 

[slimvictor]

Now they’re looking for counterfeit pills made to look like painkillers. In reality, they’re far more potent and potentially deadly.

Wait, fentanyl is just "made to look like painkillers"? I thought it actually helped with pain

Fentanyl is a deadly opioid 50 times stronger than morphine.

Because some opiods are the deadly ones, and the others are just for fun?
Because it was made to kill people?
No, because sometimes people die due to overexposure / overdose.

Is H20 a "deadly liquid"? Because it causes MANY more deaths each day than Fentanyl.

 

[slimvictor]

^ yes, you are right, surprise Fentanyl when you are expecting something else can be deadly.
And, this information needs to get around, but I just wish they didn't quite have to say it this way...

 

[neversickanymore]

Sydney drug deaths prompt coroner to warn of 'strong or corrupted' heroin batch
By police reporter Jessica Kidd
Updated 7 Jun 2016, 5:09am

MAP: Sydney 2000
A "strong or corrupted" batch of heroin is believed to be responsible for 13 drug deaths across Sydney in the space of a month, prompting an urgent warning from the New South Wales coroner.

Coroner Michael Barnes said the deaths all occurred between May 2 and June 3, suggesting an "unusually strong or corrupted" supply of the drug was currently being sold on Sydney's streets.

He said in every case the deceased was found slumped on the floor with a syringe in their hand or needles and drug paraphernalia strewn next to their body.

Coroner Barnes said that indicated each person died shortly after injecting the substance.

"Street level heroin is rarely pure," he said. "[It] can sometimes be cut with drugs or compounds that can kill you in one dose.

"As state coroner, I deal with hundreds of deaths each year and it is part of my role to make recommendations that can save lives."

Mr Barnes said there was an urgency to bring the recent spate of drug-rated deaths to the attention of the public.

"The message is clear: if you're thinking of experimenting with illicit drugs — just don't do it," he said.

continued here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-...ompts-coroner-to-issue-heroin-warning/7485050

 

[neversickanymore]

Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office: What’s in ‘alarming’ new heroin remains mystery; seeking public help

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) -- The mystery behind what is in an ‘alarming’ new heroin formulation, causing eight 19-41-year-old ‘known’ addicts to overdose in a one week time period, has Marathon County Sheriff’s officials pleading for the public’s help on behalf of every county law enforcement agency.


“What we don't know is if it's a highly potent form of heroin or heroin laced with something,” Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chad Billeb said. “We are very concerned people purchasing drugs to use them illegally may not know this, and may be unwittingly taking these drugs not knowing they're laced.”

The head of the office's drug unit, Lt. Randy Albert, said the county’s heroin epidemic has never been this bad.

“It’s like having eight serious car crashes in one week, and EMTs saving seven of those victims,” Albert said. “It's like predicting we’re going to have eight more serious accidents next week.”

Albert thinks it is most likely some of the county’s two dozen known drug dealers are targeting the county’s 500-1,000 active users with ‘double potency’ strength heroin.

http://www.wsaw.com/content/news/Sh...ns-mystery-seeking-public-help-383364841.html

 

[neversickanymore]

Some drugs in Ontario’s northwest may contain fentanyl: police
THUNDER BAY, Ont. — The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, Jun. 23, 2016 1:35PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Jun. 23, 2016 1:35PM EDT

Police in northwestern Ontario are warning that some drugs being sold on the street as Percocets and oxycodone may actually be fentanyl.

The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, Thunder Bay police and OPP say a significant quantity of drugs being sold as Percocets were recently seized.

Police say the pills were analysed and found to contain fentanyl and caffeine.


They say use of the pills could result in a fentanyl overdose by a user who isn’t aware the drug is present.

Police believe these pills were destined to be sold in Thunder Bay and on remote First Nation communities.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate used primarily for the treatment of cancer patients in severe pain and is estimated to be 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-may-contain-fentanyl-police/article30574878/

 

[slimvictor]

Tainted New Haven Heroin Could Be Anywhere in State: PD

A tainted batch of heroin caused 16 overdoses, 3 of them fatal. An unknown chemical wreaked havoc on victim’s lungs.

New Haven, CT - A tainted supply of heroin and/or cocaine in New Haven caused at least 16 overdoses, three of them fatal Thursday.
Many victims told detectives that they thought they were buying cocaine, said Officer David Hartman, police spokesman. He warned users across the state that it isn’t known how far the product has been sold.

“Any such drug should be considered deadly,” he said. “There is also no reason to suspect there are any boundaries to how far the tainted drugs have been sold or distributed. Neighboring communities are warned as well.”

The suspected deadly cocktail was heroin, the powerful opioid fentanyl and something else that “caused havoc to patients’ lungs,” said Dr. Gail D’Onofrio, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine.
Many victims that survived are on artifical respiration due to very low oxygen levels, D’Onofrio said.

Tests are being done to determine what substances are involved.

Gov. Dannel Malloy pledged to offer New Haven whatever support it needed. He ordered 700 doses of the opioid overdose reversing drug Narcan, the brand name of Naloxone be released to city first responders from the state Department of Public Health.

"This is a very dangerous situation and one that we are taking seriously,” Malloy said. “Everyone must recognize that no region of the country, state, city or town is immune - this affects all of us and so many families across our state and nation.”

http://patch.com/connecticut/newhav...eroin-causes-15-overdoses-2-fatal-thursday-pd

 

[manboychef]

This thread is a very good indicator that drugs need to be decriminalized/legalized, put through rigorous quality control, and never misrepresented. If people dying is not a very good argument for such measures I do not know what is.

 

[satya]

CT WARNING! "coke" causing ODs, deaths; city declares public health emergency

Mods please feel free to move this to the appropriate forum (or delete if this has already been posted); I wasn't sure where to put it but I feel that word needs to get out about this and quickly:

http://www.courant.com/health/heroin/hc-new-haven-overdoses-0624-20160623-story.html[/url]

16 Overdoses, 2 Deaths Among New Haven Users Who Thought They Were Buying Cocaine

NEW HAVEN — At least 16 people overdosed starting Thursday morning, and two of them died, after taking a mysterious substance that the victims had purchased thinking it was cocaine, city officials said Friday.

Officials initially identified the substance as tainted heroin, and later said they suspect it was a synthetic opioid, but had yet to identify it on Friday afternoon.

The overdoses started Thursday morning and continued through the evening. By the time officials held an 11 a.m. press conference on Friday, 16 people had overdosed in the city, and a police department spokesman said the total could go higher. Neighboring communities also reported overdoses and officials are investigating whether an overdose death in Shelton is related.

Flanked by city officials, first responders, doctors and federal law enforcement, New Haven police Chief Dean Esserman said: "Last night we all spoke and made a decision to call a public health emergency. … We need to save lives in New Haven. We need to save our own people's lives."

Authorities said that the victims they interviewed all said they thought they were buying cocaine, not heroin or another opioid.

"This is new. And I want cocaine users to be forewarned when they think they are buying just cocaine, they are not, in these cases as we have seen yesterday," said Deirdre M. Daly, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. "The cocaine they thought they were buying was a lethal opioid."

Medical professionals and law enforcement officials said they believe fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more than 50 times stronger than heroin, could be to blame. The police said they were making arrangements to quickly test any product they seized.

Esserman would not identify the packaging in which the drugs were sold, or whether there was a specific stamp on the bag, typically used to identify the product to users.

Dr. Gail D'Onofrio of Yale-New Haven Hospital said: "These overdoses were probably a synthetic opioid called fentanyl, but we don't know for sure. … But what I have to say is it wasn't just that drug. … It was something else we call an adulterant. It was something mixed with that that is causing havoc with patient's lungs."

She added: "This is not what you've seen before. You can't say you know how much to take. This is unknown."

Assistant Fire Chief Matthew Marcarelli said firefighters and paramedics began responding to the first calls for overdoses about 10:30 a.m. He said the individuals the first responders came upon were not breathing.

"Based on those signs and symptoms … they administered our antidote kits that all firefighters are trained to administer," Marcarelli said.

By 3:30 p.m., calls were coming in for multiple people suffering from overdoses in the Newhallville area of the city, he said. They found a number of people who had overdosed about the same time.

The victims were administered naloxone. "Some were given three, four, five doses of the antidote kit to attempt to revive them," he said. All of the victims were taken to the hospital, two in cardiac arrest.

The overdose cases started to subside around 10:30 p.m., Marcarelli said. The cases strained the department's supply of naloxone, so they reached out to other public safety agencies in the area, as well as the pharmacy at Yale-New Haven Hospital, to make sure they had enough naloxone on hand.

"Whatever the product we were dealing with was stronger than what we were typically encountering," Marcarelli said.

The state's Department of Public Health has pledged 700 naloxone overdose kits to the city's first responders and community providers. "DPH will stay in contact with the New Haven Health Director to continue to monitor the situation, so that we can provide whatever additional assistance New Haven may need," the department said in a statement.

"This is a very dangerous situation and one that we are taking seriously," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement.

Esserman said he watched first responders work Thursday to help those who overdosed. "Last night when I responded to a call for two people dozed off in a car off Bowen field, I watched police officers and firefighters bring people back to life with [naloxone]. It was extraordinary," he said. "And not 100 yards away in another car in the same parking lot, three people were overdosing and police and firefighters saved their lives."

About 10:30 p.m., an alert went out that a tainted batch of heroin was on the city streets. At that time, officials were aware of 13 overdoses, with one fatality.

New Haven police said they are working swiftly to determine where this drug was coming from, but nothing had been determined as of Friday afternoon.

Brian Boyle, assistant special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division, said that federal agents were working closely with partners in the state to assist in tracking down the source.

In a press statement, the New Haven police said: "Heroin and/or cocaine users be warned! The investigation is inconclusive at this time. Any such drug should be considered deadly."

 

[szuko000]

It is so sad, I am from this area and any of the local papers are filled with comments about how we deserve this. Trying to fend them off and get them to stop being racist and unsympathetic would find someone full time work. I know you cant change peoples minds but im not going to let a whole comment section be dedicated to how much people like myself suck and have no future, I know that to not be true.

No one deserves to die from a misrepresented product of any kind. Be safe out there seems like so many are dying needlessly these days in my state... it could have been me or anyone i know at one point. If it is coke someone definitely cut it with the wrong substance.

 

[TheBlackPirate]

These situations result from prohibition and the War on Drugs. I am 100% certain prohibition is the cause.

During alcohol prohibition methanol was commonly an impurity in illicit liquor. Blindness and other complications from methanol poisoning were common and a serious public health problem. Then, alcohol prohibition was repealed and the distribution of alcohol legally regulated by the state.

Since alcohol legalization this practically never happens. Methanol poisoning from liquor purchased from legally licensed and regulated vendors practically never occurs in post prohibition times.

The War on Drugs and prohibition directly caused these overdoses. Prohibition creates the majority of risks now associated with drug use.

 

[shoo-bop]

Just encountered this article describing what appears, from the report, to be a synthetic cannabinoid laboratory in which fentanyl was being mixed with the "spice". Unclear if this was being done deliberately by the manufacturer or whether they just used the same mixer for both drugs without properly cleaning it in between, leading to some contamination. Unfortunately *and not unexpectedly, being a mainstream media article relying on law enforcement press release/interview), it's unclear what "spice" chemical was being produced, etc.:

http://www.12news.com/news/local/va...irst-known-fentanyl-laced-spice-lab/251900516

Arizona DEA agents bust nation's first-known Fentanyl-laced Spice lab

Kevin Kennedy, KPNX 10:12 PM. MST June 21, 2016

PHOENIX - Arizona DEA agents work hundreds of drug cases a year. Agents often find pounds and pounds of marijuana and cocaine.

Some of the clandestine labs they bust are used for making meth or Spice. Rarely are agents surprised by what they find, but a recent bust uncovered something they’ve never seen before.

“It was like, 'oh wow,'” said DEA Special Agent Doug Coleman.

During a recent investigation, agents uncovered what is believed to be the nation’s first Spice lab using Fentanyl.

“We found many pounds of the Spice product and when you consider it is usually sold in gram quantities and Fentanyl itself is used in microgram quantities, you are talking about hundreds of thousands of doses could have gone out to street,” Coleman said.

The Spice was laced with Fentanyl -- the dealers used a cement mixer to combine the two drugs.

“[Fentanyl] is so powerful it’s given in micro-gram quantities,” said Coleman.

Four people were arrested and DEA agents say more arrests are coming.

“This is a high-priority case," said Coleman. "Again, this is a trend we have never seen before."

The concern, along with catching the dealers and their distributors, is getting the word out to potential Spice users that what they may be smoking could be laced with Fentanyl.

“A very small amount of this can cause overdose deaths,” Coleman said.

Spice is illegal and can be deadly, but when mixed with Fentanyl the risk is increased.

“You could get a leaf with 50 micrograms on it while another leaf could have two on it. If you get the one with 50, you’re a goner,” said Coleman.

Agents couldn’t talk much about the specifics of this case because it is ongoing. 12 News has learned the homemade lab was inside a house in north Phoenix. The suspects are apparently all Arizona residents between the ages of 30 and 40 years old.

In the past 18 months, Arizona DEA agents have seized more than 35 pounds of Fentanyl, which equates to more than 7.5 million doses.

It is unclear how long this Spice lab was in operation, which means agents have no idea how much -- if any -- Fentanyl-laced Spice is out on the street.

“I say it’s not just a chance, but probability there is Spice on the streets of Arizona laced with Fentanyl,” said Coleman.