On March 3rd we charged a young man from Rochester for 2nd degree and 3rd degree murder for selling Heroin laced with Fentanyl to another young man in Dodge Center – who died from an overdose. The message we want to send is clear – if you sell drugs in our county, we’ll come after you. If you sell drugs in our county and someone dies because of it – we’ll use every resource we have to find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent.
While 2016 numbers aren’t available yet, 2015 numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate more than 50,000 people died from drug overdoses. These numbers have skyrocketed with the increased use of heroin and prescription opioid pain killers.
Heroin deaths rose 23% to nearly 13,000 – higher than the number of gun homicides nationwide. Deaths from opioids, including fentanyl, rose 73%.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic used to treat patients with severe pain or manage pain after surgery. Fentanyl is a synthetic cousin to heroin, and it is deadly. On the left in this picture is a lethal dose of heroin, equivalent to about 30 milligrams; on the right is a 3 milligram dose of fentanyl, enough to kill an adult. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fentanyl is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin.
It works by binding to the brain’s opiate receptors to drive up dopamine levels and produce a state of euphoria and relaxation. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that cutting fentanyl with street-sold heroin amplifies its potency and potential danger. Effects can include drowsiness, respiratory depression and arrest, nausea, confusion, constipation, unconsciousness, coma and death.
Drug users often don’t know when their heroin is laced with fentanyl, so when they inject their usual quantity of heroin, they can inadvertently take a fatal dose. While dealers try to include fentanyl to improve potency, their measuring equipment usually isn’t fine-tuned enough to ensure they stay below the lethal levels that could cause the user to overdose. The other problem is the fentanyl sold on the street is almost always made in a clandestine lab – much of it reportedly coming from China. It is much less pure than the pharmaceutical version and thus its effect on the body can be more unpredictable.
Another alarming discovery is in some parts of the country, dealers are marketing OxyContin and other prescription pain killer pills that are actually fentanyl laced pills – fake prescription pills manufactured in somebody’s basement or warehouse. Some addicts use prescription pain killers because they believe they are safe. Just because it looks like a legitimate prescription pill, doesn’t mean it is anymore.
With the dangerous potency of fentanyl, and the increased use of it in illegal drug sales across the country, if you are using heroin or prescription pills bought on the street – you are playing Russian roulette with your life!
Many overdoses from opioids like heroin, and prescription pills like morphine and oxy end in the subject’s breathing slowing down and eventually stopping. It can be very hard to wake them up from this state. Narcan (naloxone) is an opiate antidote that blocks the effects of the drug, helping the subject start breathing again. Dodge Center Ambulance Service is now carrying Narcan on their ambulances to help us combat this terrible drug.
If you know someone who is using heroin or fentanyl, it’s only a matter of time before they overdose or worse. You need to get them help – whatever it takes. You can call your local law enforcement and talk to them about your concerns and get suggestions. If you have any information regarding someone selling and drugs – especially prescriptions, heroin and/or fentanyl – please contact law enforcement right away. You may likely save someone’s life reporting it. As always – remember you can remain anonymous.
Your Sheriff,
Scott
This post was originally published in March 2017 on Sheriff Rose’s blog.
