ASHLAND DRUG BUST HIGHLIGHTS 'KILLER DRUG

ASHLAND -- Following a heroin-related arrest Friday night, police are
alerting the public to the possible emergence of a new "killer drug"
combination that is putting heroin users in added danger.

Acting Police Chief Scott Rohmer released a statement yesterday
saying a new drug has started to appear in several Northeast states,
a combination of heroin and fentanyl. The painkiller fentanyl is
considered at least 50 times more powerful than morphine, and some
estimates put it at 80 to 100 times more potent.

Rohmer said the town has had couple of medical emergencies recently
that may have fit the pattern of a heroin-fentanyl overdose. Use of
the drug can lead to irregular heartbeats, the inability to breathe,
or death, the statement said.

The department said it is investigating those medical emergencies,
and is also testing for the combination in heroin seized in Friday
night's arrest.

[Name redacted], was arrested shortly after 8 p.m. and charged with
heroin possession and distribution. The arrest took place on Union Street.