Police are warning heroin users in Seattle of a suspected bad batch of the substance in the city that caused three fatal overdoses in a matter of hours Saturday.
Bicycle officers were sent to spread the word to known addicts along the Aurora Avenue North corridor after three individuals died from heroin overdoses and a fourth was hospitalized. Authorities in Seattle fear a bad a bad batch of heroin cut with the painkiller fentanyl is responsible for the rash of deaths Saturday afternoon. Due to the time and proximity of the overdoses police suspect the heroin came from the same supplier, meaning the deadly batch may still be circling on the streets, reports The Seattle Times.
Fentanyl is known to be roughly 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. The Seattle Police Department is imploring users to exercise caution and reach out for life-saving help.
“Our bike officers are reaching out to people they know with chemical-dependency issues and spreading the word that this particular batch has had some tragic and fatal outcomes,” SPD spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb told The Seattle Times. “From a practical standpoint, if you have to use, if you’re going to use, don’t do it alone – and don’t have the other person get high at the same time.”
Bike officers in Seattle began carrying the overdose reversal drug Narcan in March due to the rising threat of overdoses and have successfully revived 15 people. A bad batch of heroin that caused five overdoses in four hours in a Maine community Dec. 27 prompted a similar warning from local police to addicts for vigilance.
States across the country are experiencing similar problems with random batches of heroin that lead to mass overdoses in a single day or over a week. Authorities believe many of these incidents are due to dealers street-testing a new cut of heroin. Authorities linked 35 deaths over five days in Philadelphia in early December to heroin overdoses in a wave of fatalities city officials said they had “never seen” before.
Health experts also note that the presence of fentanyl or other incredibly powerful ingredients can actually entice addicts with a heavy tolerance to use the product.
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