A new fentanyl analogue is being implicated in a number of heroin-related overdose deaths in Florida, according to an article appearing in the online version of the
Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The article focuses on two cases of narcotic overdose that occurred during the summer of 2015 at the New College of Florida campus. (
Fentanyl-like drug involved in New College overdose deaths).
In the article, the author describes the postmortem toxicological findings from two separate opioid overdose cases. Butyryl fentanyl, a designer analogue of fentanyl, was the presumptive cause of death in both cases. In the first case, butyryl fentanyl was the only drug found in the decedent's blood. In the other case, alcohol, alprazolam, and MDMA were discovered in the decedent's blood along with butyryl fentanyl.
Although these overdose cases occurred in the summer of 2015, they were only completed recently. The time gap between when the deaths occurred and the completion of the casework was reflective of the time needed to develop a measurement procedure for butyryl fentanyl. The chief medical examiner who worked on these cases commented that although they are still in the midst of a heroin epidemic, they believe it may be moving past its peak.
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