CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Police say there appears to be a batch of more powerful heroin on the streets of the Capital City following a string of overdoses last weekend.
There were eight overdoses and the overdosing reversal drug didn’t work as well as it normally does, according to Chief of Detectives Lt. Steve Cooper.
“The Narcan was not nearly as effective as usual which means there’s a bad batch of heroin in town,” Cooper said Tuesday on Charleston Mayor Danny Jones’ 580 Live radio talk show on 580 WCHS.
One of the overdose victims, a 23-year-old man on lived on the East End of Charleston, died after overdosing, Cooper said.
“He worked at a locally-owned restaurant and was apparently very well liked there and obviously suffered from an addiction issue and it took his life,” Cooper said. “It was witnessed by a worker at Embassy Suites who saw him collapse and called 911.”
Eight overdoses in one weekend is less than normal, according to Cooper, but the situations last weekend were more difficult for first responders and other medical personnel.
“We have bad batches of heroin from time to time but this was particularly difficult. They were administering three and four doses of Narcan and it wasn’t fully reviving the patients. They took them to the hospital and luckily seven of the eight survived,” Cooper said.