Word: fentanyl
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...assassin that has so far claimed at least 70 lives in and around Chicago, as many as 200 others in the Detroit area and dozens more in states from Missouri to New Jersey. But the suspect isn't a serial killer; it's a lethal brand of the drug fentanyl, sometime mixed with an already potent batch of heroin, or even cocaine or alcohol...
...Everyone's saying this is heroin causing the problem, but it's fentanyl, which is an even more dangerous narcotic," said Edmund Donoghue, the chief medical examiner for Cook County, which covers Chicago. "It seems to be getting them into trouble very fast," mainly by interrupting breathing patterns and essentially causing the body to shut down. We're finding people dying in their cars, not even making it inside. I guess the attraction seems to be a more powerful high...
...sought out a pain specialist and eventually found the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, one of only a handful of such facilities in the U.S. Dr. Lauren Shaiova prescribed fentanyl, a stronger pain medication that made Cummins comfortable but not cloudy. Finally, his agony and fog lifted. "We call her our angel," said Nancy, Bob's wife, of Shaiova. But she was only practicing basic pain management, using readily available drugs. "Most docs just say, 'There's nothing more we can do,'" laments Shaiova. "I tell them, 'I can actively treat...
Many doctors flinch at using controlled substances because of the nation's harsh antidrug laws. A 1998 survey of New York State physicians found that 71% chose a drug that did not require a triplicate form--necessary for dispensing many controlled substances such as fentanyl--even when the controlled drug was the appropriate treatment. Instead they regularly choose weaker medications because they fear legal scrutiny...