INDUSTRY INSIGHT
OPIOID EPIDEMIC
THE EPIDEMIC
About five or six years ago, young people were dying more
frequently. Calls came in from families to say someone was at the
Allegheny County Medical Examiner facility. The death certificate
would have the cause of death listed as “Pending.” After waiting
16 to 20 weeks for toxicology reports
to be generated, the final certificate
would arrive with a cause of death now
stating “Accidental Overdose.” Usually
a list of drugs and other medications
would be listed.
This epidemic is crossing neighbor-
hoods, education, economics, race, sex
and age. Addiction does not discrim-
inate. The Allegheny County Medical
Examiner (Dr. Karl Williams) “revealed
that 613 people died from drugs last
year, a jump of 44 percent over the
prior year, largely due to fentanyl and
heroin.” (Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Ga-
zette, April 6, 2017)
Shaler Township Chief of Police Bryan
Kelly stated that there has been an up-
tick in drug usage. “They migrate from
prescription drugs to heroin after their
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doctor refuses to refill pain prescriptions,” he says. “We even have
had people come directly to the police station for Narcan.” Nar-
can is a brand of naloxone, an opioid reversal drug.
Current estimates are that there are 41 heroin deaths each
day in the U.S. Heroin is so dangerous because it changes the
chemistry of the brain and central
nervous system. All opioid drugs and
medications cause these changes. This
is why heroin addiction is very difficult
to treat.
Another potentially lethal danger is
that drug dealers use so many different
things to “cut” the drugs in order to
have more to sell. Health officials are
alarmed by these dealers using fentanyl
to cut heroin. Fentanyl is a synthetic
opioid considered to be 30-50 times
more potent than heroin. Caffeine,
flour, chalk, talcum powder, sucrose,
cleaning chemicals and powdered milk
are also used. No one can determine
what is in the heroin without a chemi-
cal analysis. It also makes it impossible
to know the strength of the heroin.