Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jul 2015 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Author: Meredith Cohn, Baltimore Sun HEALTH OFFICIALS TRY TO HALT RISE OF FENTANYL-LACED HEROIN DEATHS Amid a statewide surge in overdoses, Baltimore health officials announced a campaign Monday to tell heroin users that the drug they buy on the street could contain the much more potent painkiller fentanyl. The synthetic opiod, which federal officials say is 30 to 50 times as powerful as heroin, is blamed in the deaths of hundreds of drug users nationwide since 2013. Health officials, law enforcement authorities and counselors began issuing warnings more than a year ago but have not been able to stem overdoses. In Maryland, fentanyl-related deaths account for nearly a quarter of drug overdose deaths, up from 4 percent two years ago. Fentanyl-related deaths have eclipsed deaths related to cocaine and alcohol and are gaining on those attributed to prescription drugs. Baltimore has been hit particularly hard. The 39 deaths in the city linked to fentanyl in the first quarter of the year are up from the 14 recorded in the same period last year. They account for more than half of the 73 fentanyl-related deaths in Maryland during the first three months of 2015. "It's unclear why it's happening in Baltimore now, but it is a trend throughout the state and country," said Leana Wen, the city's health commissioner. "Our goal is to alert the public, alert residents that hero in my be laced with fentanyl." Baltimore City led the state in fentanyl-related deaths last year with 71. Baltimore County was second with 36; Anne Arundel County was third with 23. One of the recent victims was Crystal Moulden, a 16-year-old Glen Burnie girl who was found in a Baltimore alley last month. Her family said she was a straight-A student and cheerleader until she began drinking and smoking marijuana. Eventually she turned to harder drugs, they said. "It's very concerning, especially when we hear reports about people who don't know what they are using," Wen said. "They think they're using heroin only. "[Fentanyl] stops their breathing within a minute or so because it's so powerful." Public health officials say they lack good data on how to effectively warn users about the dangers. Baltimore is using trusted workers from its needle exchange program, in operation for two decades, to spread "lifesaving tips" - rather than telling users to quit heroin. They tell users to avoid drugs that have different colors or textures, warn against using drugs when they're alone and show them how to use the overdose medication naloxone. They also can steer people to addiction treatment. "The idea is to keep people alive today so they can make better choices tomorrow," Wen said. Fentanyl, used by cancer patients and those with chronic pain, is prescribed legally to millions of Americans each year. It produces euphoric effects similar to those of heroin but is far more powerful, making it particularly dangerous. Fentanyl overdose deaths surged in 2005 and continued for two years until the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration shut down a single lab in Mexico. But cases began climbing again in 2014, particularly in the Northeast and California. Deaths related to fentanyl in Maryland tripled to 185 last year from 58 in 2013, state data show. Baltimore made up more than a third of the total. Heroin deaths in general also are rising, with 578 people succumbing last year, up 25 percent from the previous year and more than double the 2010 total. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has formed a task force on heroin that has been visiting all corners of the state and expects to send recommendations to him by year's end. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom