Police Warn About 'Hollywood' Heroin Linked To 5 Deaths In Mass.
BOSTON (CBS) - State Police suspect 755 people died from heroin overdoses last year. Of those, 142 were in Middlesex County. There is now a new warning about an even more deadly batch of heroin that has made its way into the state.
As if "everyday" heroin isn't deadly enough, now authorities are warning about heroin labeled Hollywood, a drug they call extremely dangerous.
"Right now it's killed five people within 48 hours. It's as bad as it gets," says Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early.
In a huge bust over the weekend, Springfield Police seized 9000 bags of the Hollywood heroin along with $20,000. DA Early is worried that what's left on the streets is coming his way.
"We heard the heroin is moving east. We have heard it has moved as far east as Boston," he says. So he's putting out the warning, loud and clear.
"Don't use heroin. But aside from that, the loved ones, the families, if anyone who knows they have a family member, a friend who is using, be particularly careful," Early says.
While the seized Hollywood heroin is still being tested, the working theory is that it's laced with a synthetic opiate called fentanyl. "It operates much more quickly, shutting breathing down, relaxing the nervous system, shutting down the respiratory system, slowing down the pulse. Like we say with heroin, there's no quality control. There's no quality control and it can be deadly," says DA Early.
Heroin laced with fentanyl has cropped up before, also with deadly results. DA Early reminds everyone that the Good Samaritan Law allows witnesses of an overdose to call the police and not risk being charged with drug possession.
