FENTANYL BLAMED FOR RISE IN 2006 DRUG OVERDOSES

Health Officials: Fatalities Highest Ever At 550

Health officials are blaming a spike of deaths linked to the powerful
painkiller fentanyl for pushing drug overdose deaths in Wayne County
to an all-time high.

The county's Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday
reported more than 550 drug deaths in 2006, a 20 percent increase
from 2005, when drug overdoses accounted for 457 deaths.

"We do believe that at some level the fentanyl issue is here to stay
and that there may be other drugs that are corrupting the illegal
drug supply," said Dr. Calvin Trent, a clinical psychologist for the
Detroit Bureau of Substance Abuse.

"Until the fentanyl issue came up, we didn't really understand the
overdose numbers."

Last year, Wayne County had more than 100 deaths due to fentanyl, a
painkiller prescribed for cancer patients that can have 80 times the
potency of morphine.

Oakland and Macomb counties are seeing increases in drug-related
deaths as well, but medical examiners there don't categorize
overdoses by drug type.

Deaths by drug poisoning in Oakland increased to 161 last year, up
from 125 in 2005, said medical examiner L.J. Dragovic, who noted some
cases from last year are still pending toxicology reports.

He estimated that drug-related deaths could reach 200 for 2006.

"This is an upward trend in deaths relative to drug abuse," Dragovic
said. Although records don't track fentanyl related deaths, Dragovic
said he has performed autopsies in which people died from using
fentanyl patches that weren't prescribed.

Macomb recorded 147 drug-related deaths in 2006 with some cases still
pending, up from 123 in 2005, said Tom Kalkofen, director of the
Macomb County Health Department.

Wayne Sheriff Warren Evans touched on the fentanyl outbreak Thursday
when his office burned more than $2.5 million worth of illegal drugs
seized in raids.

Incinerated at an undisclosed location, the haul included 14 fentanyl
patches, 416 grams of crack and 605 pounds of marijuana.

"The fact that we took them off the streets most likely saved lives,"
Evans said, "whether they may have been lost to the drug itself or
the violent culture associated with them."