She said Cincinnati was being used as a “test tube” by dealers. The drug can be thousands of times more powerful than morphine.
Advertisement
Ruehlman’s order covers anyone who “turns over any substance or combination of substances said person believes may cause the user of said drug to have an overdose”.
The Drug Enforcement Agency is taking notice and going after dealers.
Sammarco, Sheriff Jim Neil and other county officials accompanied Deters to court.
Communities in OH neighbors West Virginia, Kentucky and in also saw overdose spikes in recent weeks. Authorities say carfentanil also poses danger to police, emergency personnel and drug dogs having contact with it.
Tests have confirmed carfentanil in the bodies of eight recent overdose casualties, Hamilton County’s Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco said, and more cases are suspected. Rob Portman reached out to the Cleveland Zoo and the Summit County coroner’s office to help her obtain carfentanil samples for testing. (That does not necessarily mean carfentanil is 125 times as unsafe as fentanyl, which has a narrower margin of safety when used for medical purposes because the ratio of a lethal dose to an effective dose is lower.) Both fentanyl and carfentanil have shown up in powder sold as heroin, either as a substitute or as an adjunct to highly diluted batches of the opiate.
FILE ¿ In this August 13, 2013, file photo, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil speaks during a news conference in Cincinnati.
Advertisement
Newtown Police Chief and Hamilton County Drug Coalition member Tom Synan says officials are asking Governor John Kasich to declare a state of emergency, which would bring in more money to fight the problem.
