Deadly laced heroin attractive to addicts

Outbreaks of heroin overdoses should serve as a warning to addicts to avoid fentanyl-laced batches, but in many cases, it attracts them.

"The heroin addict tends to seek out the strongest possible drug that they can find," Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Rich Isaacson said. "It's not uncommon if there's a heroin overdose that heroin addicts would seek the location and purchase that heroin because they have the mindset that that was probably a very potent version of the drug."

That explains why use of fentanyl, which is used to help cancer patients with pain management, has skyrocketed statewide. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation found fentanyl in 39 drugs submitted to the agency by law enforcement in 2013 and 387 last year.

Fentanyl use in 2015 likely has already surpassed last year's total. As of May 27, 386 cases had been reported in Ohio.

Since May 20, at least 30 people have overdosed and two have died from a strong batch of heroin laced with fentanyl in Marion. Eleven people were charged in connection with possession and distribution of the drug, which police said was dangerous even to the touch.

Clandestinely produced fentanyl can be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times more powerful than heroin, according to the DEA. The combination of heroin and fentanyl makes the deadly drugs even more dangerous.

The DEA issued a nationwide alert in March about the dangers of fentanyl after state and local labs reported 3,344 fentanyl submissions in 2014, up from 942 in 2013.

It's not the first time that fentanyl use has surged. Between 2005 and 2007, more than 1,000 overdose deaths were attributed to the drug, which came from a lab in Mexico. Once the lab was dismantled, the deaths dropped.

DEA agents are investigating the source of the most recent fentanyl surge, Isaacson said.

Heroin's potency can vary dramatically based on what other substances have been added to the drug, said Jeff Orr, president of the Ohio Task Force Commanders Association. Users might combine heroin with opioids, cocaine or morphine, he added.

In April, seven people died of heroin overdoses over 12 days in Trumbull County, where Orr serves as captain of the area drug task force. The deadly batch was laced with fentanyl and attracted users seeking a better high, he said.

Addicts might build up a tolerance to prescription pills and then switch to heroin. From there, they can build up a tolerance to heroin and seek more dangerous combinations, Orr said.

"You would think there would be a fear factor," Orr said. "They can't make good decisions if the drug dictates what they do. They can't stop using."

Derek Siegle, executive director of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, compared the pull to an alcoholic deciding between a beer and a shot of 80-proof liquor.

"They want to keep the high going," Siegle said.

It's difficult to predict where the next batch of fentanyl-laced heroin will appear, but drug detectives are working to locate and close labs, Orr said.

"We are doing the best we can," Orr said.

jbalmert@gannett.com

740-328-8548

Twitter: @jbalmert

Growing number of fentanyl reports in Ohio

*numbers are through May 27

Source: Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation