Authorities investigating jump in Chicago heroin overdoses

According to Chicago officials, the number of heroin overdoses is steadily rising in the state.

The overdoses occurred over a 24 hour period, and the narcotics were purchased at two locations on the West Side, according to a memo from the city’s health department.

Chicago authorities are investigating what’s behind a spike in heroin overdoses on the city’s West Side. Police suspect an “extremely strong batch of heroin” that’s been laced the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Patients who were rushed in Mount Sinai were reported to collapse quickly after injecting themselves with the drug.

The investigation will be carried out by the department’s High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “They’re taking double and triple the doses of Narcan in order to bring them out of their stupor”, Hincks tells the Tribune. However, the standard single dose treatment of Narcan is not having effect on the patients.

“We don’t know if it’s the beginning, middle or end of the surge”, Langford said. “But we’re noticing we were giving more in the emergency department to these patients”, Dr. Hedayati explained.