36 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2019
DEADLY FENTANYL
WORSE THAN HEROIN
Experts say the nation is no longer
facing a heroin crisis, it’s facing a
fentanyl epidemic.
Fentanyl is now the drug most frequently
involved in overdose deaths
nationwide, according to a December
report by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). The
rate of drug overdoses involving the
powerful synthetic opioid skyrocketed
by about 113 percent each year
from 2013 through 2016, replacing
heroin as the deadliest drug. In 2016,
more than 18,000 fatalities were
attributed to fentanyl, according to
the CDC.
On Long Island, by 2016, fentanyl
deaths on LI outnumbered deaths
from vehicle crashes.
Fentanyl is typically used to
treat patients with severe pain or
to manage pain after surgery but it
has in recent years flooded the U.S.
market, coming in from China often
through Mexico, research shows.
The painkiller, about 100 times more
potent than morphine, is being mixed
in with heroin, cocaine, and other
drugs to boost profits and boost the
high. Since it’s inexpensive, it’s being
“pressed” into fake oxycodone pills —
with deadly consequences.
“My findings continue to show
that fentanyl is in approximately 90
to 95 percent of all heroin,” says Dr.
Russell Surasky, the medical director
of an outpatient addiction treatment
program in Bethpage who analyzes
thousands of urine samples monthly.
“Even more frightening is the rise of
fake pills which are made from fentanyl
… I estimate that about 75 percent of
oxycodone pills bought on the street
contain fentanyl. In recent months
there have been numerous cases
of individuals who are dying from
ingesting just one of these fake pills.”
In October, President Trump
signed into law the Synthetics Trafficking
and Overdose Prevention
(STOP) Act. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the
law mandates that Customs and Border
Protection use advance electronic
data to screen all international packages
— even those delivered by the
U.S. Postal Service. A loophole in
the global postal system had allowed
criminals to ship deadly drugs like
fentanyl into the U.S. without detection
by law enforcement.
Long Island began to see sharp
spikes in fatal fentanyl overdoses
after 2012. But it was in 2016 that
the number of Long Islanders to die
from fentanyl jumped to a startling
289. Part of the rise is attributed to the
medical examiners’ offices recognizing
new fentanyl analogs, which are
drugs that are developed to imitate
a particular drug, but with different
chemical compounds.
Overall, fatal opioid overdoses on
Long Island are down from 614 in
2017 to 483 in 2018, according to preliminary
statistics from the county
medical examiners.
Garrett Kassler’s family is all too
familiar with the popular synthetic
opioid. The Plainview man had
struggled with heroin addiction for
several years but was clean for the
months leading up to his February
4, 2017 overdose death. The medical
examiner confirmed the 26-year old
died from sniffing heroin cut with
fentanyl. His parents started the
Garrett L. Kassler Memorial Fund to
help others suffering with substance
use disorder.
THE
OPIOID
CRISIS
“Had it been several years ago,
and just heroin, maybe the results
wouldn’t have been so catastrophic,”
says his father, Lee Kassler. “All it
takes is just once. Whoever’s choosing
to use today, it’s a death sentence.”
A relapse after a period of sobriety
is always a dangerous time for an opioid
abuser as their tolerance level is
lowered. Fentanyl makes it even more
deadly.
“If you know someone who is using
opioids, it is an absolute medical
emergency which requires urgent
help to stay alive,” says Dr. Surasky.
PRESS HEALTH
Fentanyl is about 100 times more potent than morphine.
"The painkiller is being mixed in with heroin,
cocaine, and other drugs."
WHERE TO
FIND HELP
For grief support:
compassionatefriends.org
For info and referrals 631-979-1700
24/7 Hotline Long Island Council on
Alcoholism And Drug Dependence
(LICADD)
For personal recovery:
nassauna.org
Nassau Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
If you’re struggling:
Vivitrol Information & Support
Group, Tuesdays 7- 9 p.m. at St.
Bernard’s Parish School, 3100
Hempstead Tpke., Room 209,
Levittown.
BY EDEN LAIKIN AND PATRICK MCINTYRE
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