Drug deaths hit a record high in 2014, with nearly 250 people dying from drug overdoses of all kinds in Milwaukee County. Heroin accounted for 119 of the fatalities, surpassing the number of car crash fatalities and homicides in the county last year. As heroin-related deaths continue to climb, a disturbing trend has emerged of addicts dying from fentanyl. In fact, six people have died from fentanyl overdoses in the first six weeks of 2015 alone. The latest confirmed fentanyl death in Milwaukee was that of a 28-year-old doctor and anesthesiology resident at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Fentanyl is a drug typically used to put patients under for surgery and to alleviate severe pain. It is 50 times more powerful than street heroin and 100 times stronger than prescription morphine. Because it is a synthetic drug, it can be made illicitly in underground labs into a product that looks strikingly like heroin, but much more potent. It’s fast acting characteristics make it very addictive and for those unfamiliar with it, the drug can be deadly.
Based on evidence from recent deaths in the Milwaukee area, experts suspect an underground lab is active. A similar fentanyl lab operating out of Mexico in 2005 accounted for nearly 350 deaths in Chicago. If investigators are able to connect the fatal fentanyl with a dealer, the suspect will likely face charges under the state’s Len Bias law. The law gives prosecutors the power to issue reckless homicide charges in any fatal overdose involving either a Schedule I or II drug. Possession or delivery of a controlled substance may result in substantial terms of imprisonment, fines and penalties.
If you or a loved one is facing drug possession or delivery charges, contact the Criminal Defense Law Offices of Andrew C Ladd, LLC. We can defend you against drug possession, drug distribution and other drug-related criminal charges.
Source: jsonline.com, “Federal Drug Officials Sound Alarm on Fentanyl Abuse” by John Diedrich, accessed March 18, 2015.
