News (Media Awareness Project) - US PA: Trying To Combat Scourge Of Heroin |
| Title: | US PA: Trying To Combat Scourge Of Heroin |
| Published On: | 2006-07-30 |
| Source: | Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-13 07:08:09 |
TRYING TO COMBAT SCOURGE OF HEROIN
After more than 400 overdose deaths nationwide from heroin laced with
the painkiller fentanyl, some needle-exchange programs are starting
to give addicts prescriptions for a drug to keep on hand to
counteract an overdose.
The antidote - naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan - can save
the life of someone who might not call 911 for fear of prosecution,
some treatment providers say.
But others say naloxone is best administered by trained paramedics
and that distributing it by prescription might appear to condone drug use.
"We don't want to send the message out that there is a safe way to
use heroin," said Jennifer DeVallance, a spokeswoman for the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsored a
symposium Friday on the fentanyl problem. The seminar was held at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Fentanyl - an opiate used legally in anesthesia and for the relief of
some cancer patients - is cheaper than heroin and 40 to 100 times
more potent than morphine.
That makes it an appealing additive for heroin distributors.
At least 150 fentanyl deaths have been recorded in the Philadelphia
region, 130 in the Chicago area, and 130 in the Detroit area.
John P. Walters, director of the White House drug policy office, said
investigators hope to learn whether a clandestine laboratory raided
in Mexico in May was the source of much of the illegal fentanyl
reaching the United States.
"We think and we hope that the production site taken down in Mexico
was the site," Walters said.
Fentanyl can lead to respiratory failure so quickly that one addict
in Philadelphia apparently died even before he finished shooting up.
A syringe with some heroin still in it was in his arm when paramedics
found his body, according to Capt. Richard Bossert of Philadelphia's
Emergency Medical Services Administration.
The case underscores the difficulty the medical community has in
responding to the fentanyl crisis. Bossert said his unit has answered
dozens of calls, but has saved only two people.
After more than 400 overdose deaths nationwide from heroin laced with
the painkiller fentanyl, some needle-exchange programs are starting
to give addicts prescriptions for a drug to keep on hand to
counteract an overdose.
The antidote - naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan - can save
the life of someone who might not call 911 for fear of prosecution,
some treatment providers say.
But others say naloxone is best administered by trained paramedics
and that distributing it by prescription might appear to condone drug use.
"We don't want to send the message out that there is a safe way to
use heroin," said Jennifer DeVallance, a spokeswoman for the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsored a
symposium Friday on the fentanyl problem. The seminar was held at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Fentanyl - an opiate used legally in anesthesia and for the relief of
some cancer patients - is cheaper than heroin and 40 to 100 times
more potent than morphine.
That makes it an appealing additive for heroin distributors.
At least 150 fentanyl deaths have been recorded in the Philadelphia
region, 130 in the Chicago area, and 130 in the Detroit area.
John P. Walters, director of the White House drug policy office, said
investigators hope to learn whether a clandestine laboratory raided
in Mexico in May was the source of much of the illegal fentanyl
reaching the United States.
"We think and we hope that the production site taken down in Mexico
was the site," Walters said.
Fentanyl can lead to respiratory failure so quickly that one addict
in Philadelphia apparently died even before he finished shooting up.
A syringe with some heroin still in it was in his arm when paramedics
found his body, according to Capt. Richard Bossert of Philadelphia's
Emergency Medical Services Administration.
The case underscores the difficulty the medical community has in
responding to the fentanyl crisis. Bossert said his unit has answered
dozens of calls, but has saved only two people.
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