Fatalities From Fentanyl Surpass Heroin Deaths On Long Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The synthetic opioid fentanyl has surpassed heroin as the leading cause of overdose deaths on Long Island, according to health officials.
Fentanyl killed at least 220 people on Long Island in 2016, according to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's office.
Fentanyl is a drug that is prescribed for cancer patients has been commonly used in surgery, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported. It can be 100 times as potent as heroin and is much cheaper because it can be made in a lab.
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, fentanyl was blamed for pop superstar Prince's death in April. Drug dealers have been using it to increase their illegal profits.
The drug has become more popular in the last three years because some users said it gives them a bigger high than heroin, Hall reported.
But fentanyl is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and heroin, and can stop the heart the first time someone uses it.
"I lost my family's trust," said recovering addict Shannon Palmer. "I didn't have money. I was going to lose my car."
Hooked on heroin, Palmer does not even know whether the drugs she snorted had fentanyl in them. She enrolled in a Smithtown outpatient clinic and has been clean for month snow.
Her doctor said besides illegal labs, drug dealers are also getting hold of doctor-prescribed fentanyl patches.
"What the drug dealers are doing is they're opening up the patches, then scraping off the fentanyl and mixing it," said Dr. Simon Zysman of Employee Assistance Resource Services.
One of Zysman's patients, named Sarah, has been sober since August. The licensed practical nurse does not want to be publicly identified.
Sarah used to snort heroin, but sought treatment after her best friend died from an overdose.
"She shot up and died," Sarah said. "It's just terrible. She left behind three kids."
Palmer had a warning for opioid users.
"Within a matter of time, you will get that bad batch of heroin and you will be dead," she said.
Palmer said professional treatment is working for her, and experts said it is the best option for recovery.
The numbers from Long Island are part of a national pattern. Fentanyl fatalities have surpassed those from heroin in other parts of the country, including New England.
The medical examiners of Long Island's two counties, Nassau and Suffolk, compiled the overdose statistics there.
Suffolk County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Caplan said the influx of illegally manufactured fentanyl from overseas requires "a multidisciplinary intervention from all levels of government.''
In New York City, there have been 1,000 opioid deaths this year, nearly half of them directly caused by fentanyl.
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