WAYNE COUNTY INVESTIGATES 3 DEATHS SUSPECTED TO BE DRUG OVERDOSES

The Wayne County medical examiner's office today was investigating
three overnight deaths suspected to be drug overdoses. Toxicology
tests have been ordered, but results take a month or so to complete.

County officials are paying close attention to the three deaths
because of the 39 fatal overdoses in Wayne County since May 18 that
could be linked to fentanyl. Drug dealers mix the powerful painkiller
with heroin and sometimes cocaine to give their product more kick.

From January 2005 to April there have been 130 confirmed overdoes
cases in which fentanyl was mixed with heroin or cocaine in Wayne County.

The large number of cases in a short period of time prompted the
county to issue a public warning and for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention this week to send investigators to Michigan.

Scores of deaths recently across the East Coast and Midwest have been
blamed on the combination. In Chicago, officials said 50 deaths have
been linked to the combination.

Fentanyl is a drug given to cancer patients and others whose pain is
too great for morphine to dull. The drug is more than 50 times as
strong as morphine and can cause users to stop breathing. The Food
and Drug Administration last year warned that people taking opiates
such as heroin, should stay away from fentanyl, citing its additional
danger to them.