DETROIT - Officials from Philadelphia to Chicago have reported deaths from a mixture of heroin and a powerful painkiller, and say it has been killing users who believe they are taking heroin alone.
The drug, called fentanyl, is considered 80 times more powerful than morphine. In the Detroit area - the hub of the problem with more than 100 confirmed cases since last fall and as many as 41 possible deaths in the past eight days - officials from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating and community organizations are trying to get the word out to users.
The CDC has no national statistics on fentanyl deaths. But reports from several states indicate the drug mixture is widespread.
The drug kills by inhibiting respiration, said Wayne County, Mich., Medical Examiner Carl J. Schmidt.
"It literally suppresses your natural impulse to breathe," he said.
The fentanyl behind the current problem appears to be manufactured illegally and mixed with heroin long before it gets to the user, Schmidt said.
