Deaths from fentanyl, stronger than morphine, on the rise in LA County

Physicians and health care providers across Los Angeles County are being waed about an increase of fentanyl overdoses and a spike in the number of deaths across Califoia related to the drug.

Los Angeles County has seen an average of 40 fentanyl-related deaths each year from 2011 to 2013, public health officials said. That figure rose to 62 deaths in 2014. No new data was available for last year, according to an advisory issued Thursday by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Fentynal is a powerful, synthetic painkiller that is stronger than morphine, but it’s being made illegally, then either mixed with the prescription drug Norco or else being sold under that name. Its street names include Apache, China girl, China white, dance fever, friend, goodfella, jackpot, murder 8, TNT, as well as Tango and Cash, notes the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Los Angeles County’s advisory follows one issued last week by the Califoia Department of Public Health which reported 48 overdoses and 10 deaths over a 10-day period in Sacramento County related to fentanyl.

“The (LAC DPH) is conceed about a further increase in deaths due to the lethality of fentanyl and reports that it is being found in street drugs and in counterfeit prescription drugs,” according to the Los Angeles County advisory. “The recent deaths in Sacramento County have further enhanced this conce.”

Fentanyl is odorless, and drugs contaminated with it caot be easily distinguished from drugs that are not contaminated, according to the state’s alert.

“These overdoses and deaths are tragic reminders that unless you receive a drug at a pharmacy, you shouldn’t take it,” state public health officer Dr. Karen Smith said in a statement.