Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jun 2006
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2006 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Troy Graham,  Inquirer Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

OVERDOSES REKINDLE TAINTED-HEROIN FEARS

At least 12 users fell ill, officials said. "Their next dose of 
heroin could be their last," a prosecutor warned.

At least a dozen drug addicts overdosed in Camden yesterday, 
authorities said, stirring fears that another wave of the tainted 
heroin responsible for more than 100 deaths nationwide has hit the region.

None of the victims died yesterday, though at least two were listed 
in critical condition at Cooper University Hospital. All fell ill 
with respiratory distress and seizures after injecting heroin, 
authorities said.

The killer drug also appears to have returned to other parts of the 
Philadelphia region. In Chester County, officials said they suspect 
three people died from the drug last week. They also said toxicology 
tests confirmed two deaths from the bad heroin that occurred in April and May.

In the Camden cases, the symptoms are similar to the adverse effects 
felt from the supply of fentanyl-tainted heroin that hit 
Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware in April. Around a dozen 
people died then, but the overdoses tapered off toward the end of that month.

Blood tests on the victims yesterday had not been completed, so 
officials could not say with certainty that the users had injected 
fentanyl-tainted heroin.

But that didn't stop them from issuing yet another urgent warning to addicts.

"The stakes could not be higher," said James P. Lynch, acting Camden 
County prosecutor. "They have to understand that their next dose of 
heroin could be their last."

The Camden victims all overdosed around Broadway, between Mickle 
Boulevard and Pine Street, an area blocks from Cooper Hospital. They 
had injected heroin from bags the dealers had branded "100 percent," 
"Nightmare," "Black Magic" and "Bad Boy."

Two people remained on ventilators after overdosing in Chester, 
Delaware County, earlier this week. Authorities there blamed those 
overdoses on fentanyl-laced heroin.

Philadelphia officials said they had seen no recent jump in overdoses.

Earlier this month, federal agents raided an illicit lab in Mexico 
they said could have been the source of the fentanyl. Still, 
overdoses have continued around the country, including a rash in 
Pittsburgh. Officials said that the supply of tainted heroin would 
take some time to disappear, even if they had closed off the source.

Police and drug enforcement agencies held a summit this week in 
Chicago, the city hit hardest by the fentanyl overdoses, to 
coordinate their efforts.

Fentanyl is a legal painkiller described as 80 times stronger than 
morphine. Drug enforcement agents have said just 125 micrograms - the 
equivalent of a few grains of salt - can be fatal. Authorities have 
found that some overdose victims unwittingly bought and injected bags 
that were nearly pure fentanyl.

Overdoses tend to drive up heroin's demand, as addicts seek out ever 
more pure product.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman