Health News Florida

Gadsden County reports a spike in fentanyl deaths over July Fourth holiday

WFSU | By Gina Jordan

Published July 6, 2022 at 8:59 AM EDT

Gloved hand holding a fentanyl bag — 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.

It was a deadly weekend involving drugs in Gadsden County. The sheriff’s office handled a spike of fentanyl overdoses, most of them on Friday. Nine people died.

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.