Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 Source: Detroit News (MI) Copyright: 2007, The Detroit News Contact: http://detnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126 Author: Iveory Perkins FENTANYL BLAMED FOR RISE IN 2006 DRUG OVERDOSES Health Officials: Fatalities Highest Ever At 550 Health officials are blaming a spike of deaths linked to the powerful painkiller fentanyl for pushing drug overdose deaths in Wayne County to an all-time high. The county's Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported more than 550 drug deaths in 2006, a 20 percent increase from 2005, when drug overdoses accounted for 457 deaths. "We do believe that at some level the fentanyl issue is here to stay and that there may be other drugs that are corrupting the illegal drug supply," said Dr. Calvin Trent, a clinical psychologist for the Detroit Bureau of Substance Abuse. "Until the fentanyl issue came up, we didn't really understand the overdose numbers." Last year, Wayne County had more than 100 deaths due to fentanyl, a painkiller prescribed for cancer patients that can have 80 times the potency of morphine. Oakland and Macomb counties are seeing increases in drug-related deaths as well, but medical examiners there don't categorize overdoses by drug type. Deaths by drug poisoning in Oakland increased to 161 last year, up from 125 in 2005, said medical examiner L.J. Dragovic, who noted some cases from last year are still pending toxicology reports. He estimated that drug-related deaths could reach 200 for 2006. "This is an upward trend in deaths relative to drug abuse," Dragovic said. Although records don't track fentanyl related deaths, Dragovic said he has performed autopsies in which people died from using fentanyl patches that weren't prescribed. Macomb recorded 147 drug-related deaths in 2006 with some cases still pending, up from 123 in 2005, said Tom Kalkofen, director of the Macomb County Health Department. Wayne Sheriff Warren Evans touched on the fentanyl outbreak Thursday when his office burned more than $2.5 million worth of illegal drugs seized in raids. Incinerated at an undisclosed location, the haul included 14 fentanyl patches, 416 grams of crack and 605 pounds of marijuana. "The fact that we took them off the streets most likely saved lives," Evans said, "whether they may have been lost to the drug itself or the violent culture associated with them." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman