OFFICIALS LAUNCH JOINT REGIONAL EFFORT TO TRACK FENTANYL-LACED HEROIN

City, state and federal law enforcement and public health officials
on Tuesday announced a joint regional effort to track the ongoing
deaths attributed to painkiller-laced heroin and identify the
suppliers of the drug.

The fentanyl-laced heroin has caused about 70 deaths in the
Philadelphia metropolitan region and more than 200 overdoses
nationwide since it was first spotted in April, U.S. Attorney Patrick
J. Meehan said.

"The problem with fentanyl is that it's deadly," Meehan said. "The
push of a syringe is like pulling the trigger."

To determine the full scope of the problem in the region, officials
representing law enforcement in Philadelphia and Camden County, N.J.;
the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the FBI; and Philadelphia's
behavioral health department said they would share information and
coordinate their investigations into the spike of fentanyl-related
deaths since the spring.

Fentanyl is a legally produced prescription painkiller that is 40 to
100 times stronger than morphine, said James Kasson, DEA special
agent-in-charge. It is commonly used to treat cancer pain; however,
the type of fentanyl currently being mixed with heroin is most likely
manufactured in clandestine labs like one raided several weeks ago in
Mexico, he said.

The drug is also many times stronger than heroin and even OxyContin,
another painkiller that has caused overdoses. An overdose can slow
breathing to the point of death.

Deaths have been reported over the past month in the cities -- and
suburbs -- of Philadelphia, Camden, Chicago and Detroit. Federal
authorities are trying to determine whether the cases are related in
any of those areas, Kasson said.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham expressed concern that
disseminating information about fentanyl-laced heroin would increase
awareness among addicts and result in more deaths. However, she said
that getting the word out was essential from a public health perspective.

"In the back of our minds, we worry ... this may be something that,
perverse as it may sound, will encourage drug abusers who are used to
the high of heroin to want to seek even a bigger bang for their
dollar," she said.