[January 27, 2015]

NMS Labs Recognizes an Increase in Heroin and Fentanyl Use

In recent years there has been a sharp rise in heroin use and heroin overdoses. According to recent data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a rise in heroin abuse in the United States has been associated with an increase in fatal overdoses. Furthermore, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued an alert about an increase in deaths related to the use of heroin laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller that is reported to be up to 100 times more potent than morphine, an active ingredient in heroin. Law enforcement from across the country have started to notice that some of the heroin they've seized has been laced with the painkiller, fentanyl. Heroin laced with fentanyl is a deadly mixture, especially since most users are unaware that the heroin has been tainted.

This is a significant public health concern. Many users unknowingly inject this potent drug combination and overdose as a result. For those lucky enough to make it to the hospital, treatment may come too little too lat. Since most hospitals don't screen for fentanyl, medical staff may believe that they are only treating a heroin overdose which is usually easier to reverse. More attention needs to be brought to the issue of fentanyl-laced heroin before it becomes a greater epidemic. Additionally, there is evidence that in some cases the heroin being sold is pure fentanyl without any heroin.

In reviewing our results for drug trends, we have found fentanyl to be more prevalent than ever before.

"After seeing the trend of increasing fentanyl use, we knew the best thing to do was to include fentanyl detection to all of our postmortem panels," Said Dr. Barry Logan, Chief of Forensic Toxicology at NMS Labs.

In just 90 days we saw 88 cases positive for both fentanyl and 6-acetylmorphine (a unique metabolite of heroin) from across the country. You can view a chart of our findings along with a full report here.

A live webinar detailing the current trends in this deadly combination of drugs will be held on Wednesday, January 28^th. Click here for more information and to register

About NMS Labs:

NMS Labs is an international forensic and clinical reference laboratory that is unsurpassed in its scope of toxicology tests, accuracy of results, scientific expertise, and innovation. The state-of-the-art headquarters includes clinical, forensic and research facilities, a dedicated and secure crime laboratory, and is staffed by more than 200 highly trained professionals. For more information on NMS Labs, please visit www.nmslabs.com.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]