FENTANYL CASES CITED FOR RISE IN DRUG DEATHS IN '06

Drug deaths soared by at least 20% in Wayne County last year, the
result of a deadly mix of heroin and cocaine laced with fentanyl that
received notoriety last spring and summer as fatalities increased in
metro Detroit.

On Thursday, the county Department of Health and Human Services
released its figures, with the Medical Examiner's Office reporting
more than 550 drug deaths through mid-December -- 93 more than that
reported in all of the previous year.

The department didn't release how many of the deaths were caused by
fentanyl but said the cases were responsible for the increase.
Previous reports noted that between September 2005 and October 2006,
198 deaths in the county were linked to fentanyl.

"These numbers show fentanyl is a killer," Wayne County Executive
Robert Ficano said in a statement Thursday.

Fentanyl, a painkiller, can be 80 times more powerful than morphine.

Figures for Macomb and Oakland counties through mid-December were
unavailable, but officials in those counties said they also expect
more drug deaths in 2006 than in the previous year.

In Oakland County, which also tracks Genesee County drug deaths, 75
overdoses had been linked to fentanyl from September 2005 through
November 2006.

Macomb County had about 20 fentanyl-related deaths in the same period.