Carfentanil May Have Played Part In Lawrence Double Fatal Overdose

LAWRENCE (CBS) — The highly-potent narcotic carfentanil may be to blame for two deadly overdoses that prompted a hazmat response Monday morning. Lawrence and Massachusetts State Police rushed to a Garden Street apartment just before six a.m. after a man called to say he may have ingested some sort of dangerous substance. Police entered the apartment to find two men dead. A third, the man who called 911, was taken to Lawrence General Hospital. His condition is not yet known. State and Lawrence Police respond to a double fatal overdose on Garden Street. (WBZ-TV) The survivor told police that he had suffered nerve damage, and had apparently been lying on his side for as much as a whole day. Police found a substance inside the apartment that may be the synthetic opioid carfentanil–an elephant tranquilizer ten thousand times more potent than morphine–but stressed that the evidence is still being processed and tested and the nature of the substance is not yet known. Carfentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, and it’s possible to overdose by simply touching it–so first responders at the scene wore hazmat gear. Lawrence Police chief now says drug that caused two men to overdose has not yet tested positive as carfentanil but they suspect it is. pic.twitter.com/Gmcr9EQR1l — David Robichaud (@RobiWBZ) July 17, 2017 Some of the hazmat crews were having their uniforms washed down after exiting the house. The State Police bomb squad also respond...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Syndicated Local Carfentanil David Robichaud Lawrence Lawrence Police Massachusetts State Police opioid crisis overdose Source Type: news