What’s the Buzz about Heroin laced Fentanyl? It’s Killing People. A LOT of People.

If you’re drug savvy, and hopefully not in the way that would put you in danger, you might have heard recent scattered reports about Fentanyl- but what the heck is it, and why do we care? Well, fentanyl is an opiate based painkiller that about 80 times as potent as morphine, according to the Bradenton Herald. The reason you’re hearing about it is because it’s killing people. A lot of people. So far in Manatee County 54 have been fatal victims to overdoses spurred by fentanyl laced heroin.

Drug dealers, who specifically deal in heroin, have been recently cutting their batches with fentanyl, and it’s causing overdose rates to surge tremendously. North Florida has been particularly affected in manatee County. In February 11 overdose calls came in to Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue. And it’s not just Florida that’s being affected, there are many states reporting more of the same.

The Bradenton Herald quotes Lt. Darin Bankert of Manatee County Sheriff’s Office,

“Fentanyl in and of itself is enough to cause death in a lot of cases. And the fact that they’re cutting heroin with fentanyl is just making the heroin, which is already dangerous, that much more deadly.”

Right now the overdose death rate in manatee County is a whopping 54%. Florida is ranked 35th out of the entire country for providing addiction funding, and 49th in behavioral health coverage. That’s bad news for people with untreated substance use disorders; one because many go without necessary drug and alcohol rehabilitation from the get-go, and two because mental health is care is just as important to break the cycle of addiction. In both respects, Florida isn’t doing too great on those fronts.

But maybe change is afoot; if you recall, Gov. Rick Scott has recently passed two bills in an attempt to help make addiction and recovery possible by providing access to opiate reversal medications, and reforming sober living communities with state certification.

If heroin addiction wasn’t a big enough problem, with limited bed space in most of the state for heroin rehabilitation in Florida, fentanyl has compounded the social dilemma exponentially. Because many heroin users don’t know the heroin they’ve bought is laced with fentanyl, making it exceedingly more potent, when they consume the typical amount of the substance they’re used to, it forces them to overdose- dying in many cases. What’s more, is that addiction treatment in Orlando is scarce- forcing many to wait to be admitted into detox programs.

 

Do you know anyone that’s been experimenting with fentanyl personally?

 

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The post What’s the Buzz about Heroin laced Fentanyl? It’s Killing People. A LOT of People. appeared first on Harbor Village Florida.

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