POTENT SYNTHETIC DRUG FOUND LOCALLY

Fentanyl, a potent synthetic drug similar to morphine, has reached
Dutchess County. It is thought to be as much as 200 times as potent
as morphine.

The county Department of Health warned local hospital emergency rooms
recently to be on alert, because fatal overdoses are common among
heroin users lured by the promise of an intense high. Government
agencies and nonprofit groups that work are also trying to get the
word out on the street.

The Dutchess County medical examiner recently received toxicology
results indicating that a man with a history of drug abuse and
hepatitis C had the drug in his blood stream when he was found dead
in his home.

It was the first known death attributed to the drug in Dutchess
County, but Fentanyl has killed people across the country.

"Whatever is being sold out on the street, we're just concerned we're
going to see more cases sooner rather than later," Health
Commissioner Dr. Michael Caldwell said.