After three fentanyl- related deaths in Walker County earlier this week that involved a woman from Menlo, the Northwest Georgia Department of Public Health and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into what has been called a “drug cluster” to identify potential victims of fentanyl overdose. But what is fentanyl and why are drug dealers lacing their products with the deadly substance?
Fentanyl isn’t just a street drug. It is also a legal painkiller than can be given safely under the right circumstances. According to law enforcement officers and former drug dealers interviewed by ABC News, drug dealers often think they can mitigate the risk for their clients by measuring the fentanyl carefully.
Done correctly, lacing illicit drugs with fentanyl often creates a return stream of customers because fentanyl is considered highly addictive. This is why fentanyl is often found in street drugs like cocaine, counterfeit Xanax, counterfeit Adderall, or other drugs not classified as opioids. Done incorrectly, which happens far too often, the drug is deadly.
Dr. Gary Voccio with the Northwest Georgia Department of Public Health is concerned about this latest report of fentanyl laced illegal narcotics that has hit Northwest Georgia. Voccio penned a letter this week saying, “Drugs with fentanyl are extremely potent and patients have required massive doses of naloxone to counteract the effects. It is suspected that this drug is HIGHLY DANGEROUS and should not be handled. It could possibly be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and are extremely toxic in even the smallest quantities”.
Voccio is not only concerned with people who might purchase, handle and ingest the illegal drugs laced with fentanyl, he is also concerned about the first responders called to deal with drug overdose victims.
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