Twenty-two opioid-related overdoses occurred in the span of 48 hours in Suffolk County, N.Y., resulting in at least one fatality, according to a report from NBC New York.
The overdoses were caused by heroin, prescription opioids and fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The drug has been linked to a rash of overdoses around the country as drug dealers are frequently cutting the substance into the heroin supply.
"This is a serious public health concern, with a[n] approximately 60 percent uptick in opioid-related doses," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said at a Saturday news conference, according to NBC New York. "We want to get the message out, particularly to family members and loved ones and friends of those who are suffering from substance abuse disorder. This is now the time to intervene … to get your loved one help."
Sini said that police are targeting drug dealers and working with the New York Police Department by sharing data. He emphasized that the problem is not clustered in one neighborhood.
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