NEW RASH OF DEADLY HEROIN OVERDOSES

As word circulated this week of people passing out from potent heroin
on Chicago's South Side, drug users didn't recoil with fear, police said.

They turned out in droves for a taste.

By the end of Wednesday, 25 people between the ages of 17 and 73 had
overdosed, including a 51-year-old woman who died at her home.

"It's a sad commentary when people are racing to a place they know
may overdose them," Police Supt. Philip Cline said Thursday.

With 66 heroin overdoses since August, including 11 deaths, police
announced they are teaming with federal officials to try disrupting
the drug's flow into the city and to staunch the street deals
plaguing the South and West Sides.

Though there are close to 250 fatal drug overdoses in Chicago every
year, officials said, incidents involving heroin are becoming more
concentrated. Fifteen of Wednesday's overdoses happened near the Ida
B. Wells public housing complex. In February, 10 people died near the
Dearborn Homes after taking heroin that, authorities said, was cut
with Fentanyl, a prescription drug often used in anesthesia.

Though Fentanyl is believed to be contributing to most of the heroin
overdoses, Cline said, it is unclear if the drugs passed out
Wednesday were cut with the substance or if they were simply
extremely potent doses.

What is known about Wednesday's outbreak is that samples were being
given out in pink baggies in the 500 block of East Browning Avenue
and at 64th Street and Ashland Avenue, Cline said.

Officers arrested seven people suspected of distributing the drugs,
including someone bragging to locals that he would "have some good
stuff to pass out," Cline said. Charges have not been filed.

"All of these incidents have one thing in common: gangs and gang
turf," Cline said.

On Wednesday, Alberta Morris was found about 4:15 p.m. at her home in
the 7000 block of South Racine Avenue, police said. Morris was
pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday by the Cook County medical
examiner's office.

It is unclear when or where she obtained her drugs, Cline said, but
her story was invoked as officials cautioned against buying drugs or
taking free samples.

"What you think you are buying and what you are actually getting are
two very different things," said Terry Mason, commissioner of the
Chicago Department of Public Health. "You're completely at the mercy
of the person who sold you or gave you the drug."

Fentanyl is about 100 times more potent than heroin, Mason said,
causing spasms in the rib cage that can prevent breathing. Officials
believe heroin is coming into Chicago already cut with Fentanyl.

Dan Bigg, director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, said it is
common for people to flock to potent drugs because they expect they
can handle the strength while getting an extreme and cost-effective high.

"If you're out there trying to sustain a habit, the more milligrams
of heroin you can get, the better off you'll be," Bigg said.

Though people passing out might seem like an obvious reason to stay
away, they are actually good advertising for the dealers, he said.

"It doesn't take much effort to get a little Fentanyl and see people
pass out and get some publicity. And all [dealers] care about is the
publicity," Bigg said.