Tag: Overdoses

Prosecutors: Man Dealt Elephant Sedative in Overdose Case

An Ohio man was accused of distributing an elephant sedative to people, which, according to federal prosecutors, resulted in about two dozen overdoses in a West Virginia city.

On Monday, prosecutors charged 22-year-old Bruce Lamar Griggs of Akron, Ohio, with distributing carfentanil and fentanyl, local news organizations reported.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, carfentanil is an elephant sedative that is 100 times more potent than fentanyl. Fentanyl is an opioid used as part of anesthesia to help prevent pain.

In September, the DEA issued a public warning about the health and safety risks of carfentanil.

“DEA, local law enforcement and first responders have recently seen the presence of carfentanil, which has been linked to a significant number of overdose deaths in various parts of the country,” the DEA’s release stated. “Improper handling of carfentanil, as well as fentanyl and other fentanyl-related compounds, has deadly consequences.”

Griggs was charged Aug. 26 with heroin distribution in connection with 27 overdoses that resulted in two deaths on Aug. 15 in Huntington, West Virginia.

Prosecutors also filed a motion for a guilty plea hearing on Monday. The date for the hearing has yet to be released.

Fentanyl Blamed for Spate of Overdoses in Huntington

Authorities say the heroin that led 27 people to overdose in a five-hour span in a single West Virginia city had been mixed with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington reports that investigators for the first time detailed the potency of the concoction in a federal indictment Tuesday.

Twenty-two-year-old Bruce Lamar Griggs of Akron, Ohio, is charged with drug distribution in connection to the Aug. 15 spate of overdoses in Huntington. At least one man died.

Griggs was arrested by Tallmadge, Ohio, police officers late last month and is now in federal custody.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fentanyl is an opioid that is about 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

The indictment does not mention whether Griggs has an attorney.

W.Va.’s Opioid Epidemic Draws Federal Funds

Additional federal dollars are coming to West Virginia to help combat the state’s opioid epidemic. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ announcement was used to mark national Overdose Awareness Day.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will award $53 million to 44 states, four tribes, and the District of Columbia. The money will help ensure health care professionals have the right tools and training to avoid over-prescribing opioids and to educate their patients about the risks. It will also expand access to naloxone for first responders, a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose, and the funds will also support treatment facilities.

On the call, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said, just last week 26 people overdosed in his city within a 24 hour period. Two of those 26 died, and Williams says access to care is a major problem.

“In West Virginia alone, we only have 28 detox beds in the entire state of West Virginia,” Williams said, “Eight detox beds just in my home county, in Cabell County, West Virginia. That one evening, when we had 26 overdoses, we didn’t have enough beds available in the entire state if every person had come and said, I want help.”

Williams and officials with HSS are hopeful Congress will sign-off on President Obama’s proposal to allocate an additional $1.1 billion toward combatting the nation’s drug epidemic.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

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