Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jul 2006
Source: Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2006 South Jersey Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/29
Author:  Tom Namako, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

HEROIN OVERDOSE CASES CONTINUE TO RISE IN VINELAND

VINELAND -- The number of heroin overdoses in the city continued to 
spike Wednesday, with police reporting two more incidents where users 
were found unconscious and rushed to the emergency room.

The incidents on Tuesday brought the number of overdoses in the city 
during the past week to 10, according to Vineland police reports. In 
almost every instance, the user was found passed out with either a 
syringe or small bag containing a white powdery substance nearby. 
None of the 10 has died.

Law-enforcement officials said they believe that fentanyl, an 
extremely strong pain reliever used to treat cancer patients, may 
have made its way into the street supply of heroin in Vineland.

Fentanyl works though the central nervous system and could be 
addictive if it's not used for pain, according to Medline Plus, the 
National Institutes of Health medication database.

The fentanyl-laced heroin was first seen regionally in Camden, where 
it claimed the lives of several people earlier this year. Authorities 
said many drug dealers use it to supplement the drug so they can 
create more doses to sell.

It's unclear whether fentanyl-laced heroin was involved in either of 
the most recent incidents. Calls to Lt. Tom Ulrich at the Vineland 
Police Department went unanswered Wednesday.

Vineland resident Robert Maldonado, 25, was found Tuesday passed out 
in an unlocked room and covered in ice at the Days Inn on Landis 
Avenue, a police report said.

The room was unlocked by a supervisor after an employee said he was 
going to use it, according to the report. Moldonado later told police 
he and some friends were looking for a place to buy and use drugs and 
found the open door.

Police said Maldonado was shaking so violently after being taken to 
the South Jersey Regional Medical Center that he couldn't sign his 
Miranda rights form.

He was charged with possession and use of heroin, possession of a 
syringe and a separate burglary warrant.

Javier Feliciano, 36, was found by his brother, Hector Feliciano, 
lying unconscious Tuesday in his Park Town apartment complex bathroom.

Hector Feliciano told police that his brother had track marks on his 
arm from injecting heroin, which he took 10 minutes before passing 
out. Emergency medical services took Javier Feliciano to the South 
Jersey Regional Medical Center, where he told police he used the drug.

Feliciano was charged with using and possessing heroin and a syringe. 
He was released pending a court date.
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