NEW YORK, Jul 25, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- At least 1,000 people died in a
two-year surge of fatalities resulting from an illegal version of the painkiller
fentanyl, government officials said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disclosed the number of
deaths in the first government review of the death surge's impact, The Wall
Street Journal reported Friday.
Fentanyl is frequently given to patients with cancer or other conditions causing
serious pain. The drug can be used to make a narcotic powder that is
significantly stronger than than heroin, said T. Stephen Jones, a consultant and
former CDC official wrote the report.
A flood of deadly overdoses took place in a number of metropolitan areas across
the United States from 2005 to 2007, the agency's report indicates.
The report says the drug's production was eventually suppressed by a legal
crackdown.
The surge of overdoses marked the only time illegally made fentanyl was blamed
for a significant jump in U.S. deaths, the newspaper said.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International