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Gadsden County sees a deadly spike in fentanyl overdoses

Darwin Brandis
/
stock.adobe.com

Update:

The Gadsden County Sheriff's Office now says 9 people are believed to have died of fentanyl overdoses since Friday, July 1st. The office has put out an alert about what appears to be a polluted drug supply.

Original story:

Gadsden County saw a spike in fentanyl overdoses during the holiday weekend, including 6 deaths.

The U-S Drug Enforcement Administration posted a statement to social media Saturday about a suspected mass fentanyl-poisoning event in Gadsden County.

The DEA issued a warning in April about mass overdose events happening around the country due to the powerful opioid. It’s often mixed into other drugs – unbeknownst to the users.

Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young says the weekend overdoses are believed to be connected to marijuana or cocaine being laced with fentanyl.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office says users often don’t know fentanyl has been mixed with the drug they just purchased.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram's statement about the Gadsden County fentanyl overdoses.
www.facebook.com/DEAHQ
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DEA Administrator Anne Milgram's statement about the Gadsden County fentanyl overdoses.

Gina Jordan is the host of Morning Edition for WFSU News. Gina is a Tallahassee native and graduate of Florida State University. She spent 15 years working in news/talk and country radio in Orlando before becoming a reporter and All Things Considered host for WFSU in 2008. Follow Gina: @hearyourthought on Twitter. Click below for Gina's full bio.