The terrible toll taken on area residents by deadly drugs has taken another very dark turn. Coroner Jerry Overman Jr. this morning said new strains of the lethal drug fentanyl have contributed to five recent overdose deaths in Indiana County.
That includes carfentanil, which is a drug used for large animals such as elephants. The drug is made in China and is banned in the United States because it is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more powerful than fentanyl. It’s usually mixed with heroin.
Other drugs found in the five recent deaths were cyclopropyl fentanyl, known as “the Grey Death”; another drug with a very long chemical name which is commonly referred to as “FIBF”, or “4F”; methocyacetyl fentanyl; and “4-ANPP”, which is used in the production of fentanyl.
Overman says the drug can be deadly not only for users, but for emergency responders.
He is recommending extreme care and the use of gloves and perhaps masks to protect first responders.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”ST-Bank”]
