# 110

Two Drug Counselors Overdose on opioids/heroin at live-in recovery home in Pennsylvania.  Substance deliberately injected by each in separate rooms.

This post harkens back to Post # 11 Ethical Questions

"One doesn't have to dig very deeply to discover the debate with continues in treatment circles regarding a non-Physician counselor who purports to be secure in his position as counselor while maintain an accurate awareness that he too is/was an addict.

What Happens When Addiction Counselors Relapse? By Jeff Forester 08/30/11

https://www.thefix.com/content/when-counselor-does-coke4050?page=all

        

Relapse plays a familiar part in the lives of many recovering addicts. And even longtime drug counselors are not immune from the occasional slip."

In the above post and elsewhere in this blog, the question has been asked how certain "diseases" are defined by the AMA, however, they are rarely treated by physicians.  In large part, substances which people abuse such as alcohol and opioids produce a unique handoff by which treatment for their addictive disease is largely administered by recovering addicts having masters degrees.  In the reported case in Blog # 110, two recovering addictive counselors cross the line as they made fatal decisions.  While the Medical Profession is aware of Physicians who become addicted to substances, they are less likely to overdose than a class of counselors who almost entirely is made up of substance abusers.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/us/drug-counselors-overdose/index.htmlTwo Drug Counselors

# 109

Police find 4.4 pounds of Fentanyl and Ketamine inside door panel of car in Fresno County, Ca.  Driver charged.

In the below article, it is calculated that the two poisonous substances are valued at $6.8 Million, however, no estimate of the number of potential fatal overdoses is suggested.  A hint of the toxicity is provided when the article contains photos of police wearing hazmat suits.  Additionally, the article reminds the reader that even a particle of Fentanyl is sufficient to kill a person.

Of greater potential than the removal of the trafficker and taking the substances off the streets is the opportunity for law enforcement to determine the location of the laboratory in which the substances were produced - foreign or domestic.

Katamine was originally developed as a surgical anesthetic until it was determined that it produced psychedelic effects and a dissociative state.  Ketamine also reduces respiration similar to the opioids.  Along with Phencyclidine, Ketamine is known as  a "dissociative anesthetic."

http://wjla.com/news/offbeat/68-million-in-fentanyl-and-ketamine-found-in-secret-car-compartment-in-fresno-county

# 108

Police Officer in East Liverpool, Ohio makes traffic stop after seeing drug sale and accidentally touches white powder on his shirt at the station; overdoses on Fentanyl and requires four Narcan doses for revival.

Potency of synthetic opioid, Fentanyl, confirmed in story prompts city counsel to appeal to state legislature for stiffer controls where opioids are found.

"The incident rattled local officials enough that it became a topic of conversation at the city council meeting Monday night in East Liverpool, where Service-Safety Director Brian Allen called for legislation that would prevent anyone from entering a home where drugs like fentanyl or its more potent cousin, the elephant tranquilizer carfentanil, have been found, reported Morning Journal.

And in a Facebook post Monday, the city of East Liverpool called on state lawmakers to act.

“It’s time our state government drafts legislation to protect our safety forces from these harmful drugs,” the city wrote. “Those in possession not only pose a risk to themselves but everyone they come into contact with as well.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/16/i-was-in-total-shock-ohio-police-officer-accidentally-overdoses-after-traffic-stop/?hpid=hp_rhp-morning-mix_mm-ohio%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.25742e625737

# 107

Most recent article on families that opt to tell the truth when they compose obituaries, following death from lethal doses of substances.

Update on article from Post # 15

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/05/14/opioid-addiction-crisis-spurs-brutal-candor-in-obituaries.html

# 106

Georgia Bureau of Investigation raids "pill factory" and sounds warning on new Opioid : Furanylfentanyl.  10 kilos of pills and powder falsely labelled as Oxycodone.  Potency so great that Georgia Legislature immediately adds to prohibited substances law.

In the below article, reporters demonstrate how mere skin contact can result in death by way of transdermal absorption.  Authorities have linked 11 deaths in 2017 to the newly reported substance.

DEA had this substance added to its list of Schedule I substances on September 27, 2016 and it is banned in Sweden.  The substance is known as an analog of Fentanyl (about five times less potent than Fentanyl) and has been linked to OD deaths in Chicago (2016) and Estonia in the early 2000s.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/this-new-drug-is-so-potent-it-can-cause-a-fatal-overdose-just-by-touching-it/519423310