HEROIN DEATHS PROMPT WARNING

A rash of heroin-overdose deaths -- at least three in the past week
- -- have prompted the Lebanon County coroner to issue a warning to
users.

Dr. Jeffrey Yocum said yesterday that tests are being done to
determine if the heroin is especially pure or if it is laced with
another deadly substance.

Yocum could not provide any information on the victims, but he said
police are trying to track down the source of the deadly narcotic.

The warning is reminiscent of one two years ago, when a batch of
heroin laced with the powerful painkiller fentanyl led to several
local overdoses, including at least one death. In that instance, the
drug had appeared in larger cities throughout the state, and local
officials were on the lookout for it here.

The recent overdose deaths seem to be isolated to the
county.

Sue Klarsch, executive director of the Lebanon County Commission on
Drug and Alcohol Abuse, said she had been speaking with her
counterpart in Chester County, outside Philadelphia, and she had not
noticed a spike in heroin overdoses.

The latest overdoses come on the heels of the commission's report
that the number of heroin deaths has dropped significantly -- from a
yearly average of about 12 to 15 to just four last year. Much of the
credit for the decline was given to a methadone clinic in North
Cornwall Township, which began operating two years ago.

Klarsch urged anyone who is seeking help with addiction to contact
the county Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse at 274-0427, Crisis
Intervention at 274-3363 or a health-care professional.