Pubdate: Thu, 31 Aug 2006
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2006 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Matthew Walberg
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

FENTANYL-LACED HEROIN SUSPECTED IN GRUNDY DEATHS

The Grundy County coroner will start screening for homemade fentanyl 
after two deaths in a week that might be linked to fentanyl-laced heroin.

On Saturday morning, Michael McGovern, 19, of Seneca was pronounced 
dead in Morris Hospital. And on Aug. 19, Edward Niekirk, 44, was 
found dead in his Morris home by his son.

While Coroner John Callahan's office is investigating both deaths and 
awaiting toxicology reports, he said Wednesday he is "very, very 
certain these are fentanyl-related deaths."

Screening for homemade fentanyl will help ensure accurate autopsy 
reports and hopefully serve as a warning about drug use, Callahan said.

Most of Illinois' fentanyl-related deaths have occurred in Cook 
County, which has recorded 185 since April 2005, including 145 in Chicago.

Callahan, whose county is about an hour's drive south of Chicago, 
said the concern is that fentanyl-laced heroin is spreading outward.

"We've known for some time that heroin is in the area. It's 
inexpensive and easy to get right now," Callahan said. "We just had 
another [fentanyl overdose] Monday night--another man in Morris that 
overdosed. Word on the street is that he survived, but he's supposed 
to be in bad shape."

Statewide, other drugs such as crystal meth are a far greater 
problem, said Coles County Coroner Mike Nichols, president of the 
Illinois Coroners and Medical Examiners Association.

Nichols said he hasn't heard much about fentanyl-laced heroin from 
other association members.

"It's not an epidemic," he said. "Meth is our destruction down here. 
I have more deaths related to meth. And then there's the offspring 
that people who get hooked on the stuff [meth] go out and commit 
other crimes to support their habit."

Fentanyl, a synthetic pain medication, is 80 to 100 times more potent 
than morphine.

Drug dealers have begun lacing heroin with fentanyl, either to add 
punch to low-grade heroin or to lure users with the quick high that 
it provides.

But the hazard with fentanyl is that it is so potent that the line 
between high and dead is razor thin. And when it's cooked by 
amateurs, there's no way to know its exact potency.

"I don't want to give out the recipe, but all the ingredients you 
would need to make it in a lab at home can be bought over the 
counter, no prescription needed," Callahan said. "But this is where 
we get in trouble, because none of these folks are chemists. Far from 
it. There's no control on the manufacturing process, nor any 
knowledgeable control on the heroin itself. Every batch is going to 
have a different potency."

Callahan said that although Grundy County has not had many overdose 
deaths from fentanyl or other illegal drugs, he wants to warn 
potential users of the risk, and warn parents to be alert for signs 
of heroin use by their children.

"Knowing that it has been in the counties around us for some time, 
and now we have two deaths, I'd rather be proactive and not have any 
business than try to react to each one," Callahan said.

His office already screens for prescription fentanyl as part of 
toxicology tests, he said, but is adding the screen for homemade 
fentanyl to ensure accuracy in future autopsies.

"But it's also to emphasize to people that, number one, it's wrong to 
take drugs, but that you're going to do something that you know 
nothing about. And people are paying the price for it."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman