A typical new combination he’s seeing is heroin combined with 3-methylfentanyl, a more powerful version of fentanyl, said Webber, 25. Some communities also are seeing fentanyl mixed with non-opioids, such as cocaine. In Rhode Island, the state has recommended that individuals with a history of cocaine use receive supplies of the anti-overdose drug naloxone. Gray death is arguably one of the most concerning drugs when it comes to the risk of overdose, but it might not even be the worst. Manufacturers are constantly producing new substances to evade laws that struggle to keep up with a changing drug landscape. Unfortunately, heroin users end up unwittingly serving as the testers for these new products and paying with their lives.
Add a dash of carfentanil, which is an animal tranquilizer 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and made to be used on tigers and elephants. But even as law enforcement is focusing on Gray Death, drug dealers are hard at work on even more lethal drug cocktails made from opioids that are smuggled into the country from Mexico or shipped in by mail from China. The mixing poses a deadly risk to users and also challenges investigators trying to figure out what they’re dealing with this time around, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican.
- He’s now sober and runs a treatment organization, Fight for Recovery, in Clyde, Ohio.
- Psychoactive components such as heroin, fentanyl, or U (an extremely strong synthetic opioid painkiller) are commonly found in drug cocktails.
- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has received 50 overdose cases in the past three months involving gray death, most from the Atlanta area, said spokeswoman Nelly Miles.
It’s essential to navigate drug withdrawal under the safe guidance of a medical professional.
In Ohio, a record 3,050 people died of drug overdoses last year, most the result of opioid painkillers or their relative, heroin. Investigators who nicknamed the mixture have detected it or recorded overdoses blamed on it in Alabama, Georgia and Ohio. According to drugs.com, people should avoid contact with it because furanyl, fentanyl and U are lethal at very low doses. “Gray death” powder can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and can be extremely toxic, even in the smallest quantities, and rapidly lead to fatal respiratory depression, the website says.
Trying to ditch drug use without the help of medical professionals can also be dangerous. So far, it’s been limited to the Gulf Coast and states like Georgia and Ohio and “we are monitoring the potential spread of this deadly combination of drugs,” Russ Baer of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency told NBC News. The adult children of alcoholics combo is just the latest in the trend of heroin mixed with other opioids, such as fentanyl, that has been around for a few years. Despite its known dangers, some opioid addicts may be enticed by gray death’s ability to produce a high unlike other drugs out there.6 Unfortunately, this high can rapidly turn deadly.
Fentanyl-related deaths spiked so high in Ohio in 2015 that state health officials asked the CDC to send scientists to help address the problem. When added to Gray Death, it creates as lethal a combo as any out there, according to Baer. “Pink” by itself has been blamed for at least 46 deaths in 2015 and 2016 in New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin, North Carolina, according to the DEA. It looks like a chunk of concrete, can kill with one dose, and it’s got an ominous name — Gray Death.
Gray Death: The New Killer on the Street
The first sample seized in the state was recovered from suspects traveling through the the St. Mary Parish, according to police. Along the way, Eric worked as a collaborating investigator for the field trials of the DSM-5 and completed an agreement to provide mental health treatment to underserved communities with the National Health Service Corp. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor.
The greater affinity of these substances for the μ-opioid receptor impedes the activity of naloxone, which is an antagonist at the receptor. Increasing the dosage of naloxone or its frequency of administration may be required to counteract respiratory depression. Gray death is a slang term which refers to a potent mixture of synthetic opioids, for example benzimidazole opioids or fentanyl analogues, often sold on the street misleadingly as “heroin”. However, other substances such as cocaine have also been laced with opioids that resulted in illness and death. David Spencer, a spokesperson for the St. Mary’s Parish Sheriff’s Office, told CBS affiliate KLFY-TV that “gray death” is a heroin that has been cut with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says is 80 to 100 times stronger than heroin.
Most people with addictions buy heroin believing that’s what they’re getting, overdose survivor Richie Webber said. But it’s often not the case, as he found out in 2014 when he overdosed on fentanyl-laced heroin. He’s now sober and runs a treatment organization, Fight for Recovery, in Clyde, Ohio. The drug combination is just the latest in a trend that’s been around for a few years which involves mixing heroin with other opioids, such as fentanyl, to make a more powerful high. The main victims of the rise of gray death are those addicted to opioids.
In Ohio, a state hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, a record 3,050 people died of drug overdoses last year. Most were the result of opioid painkillers or their relative, heroin. Prescription painkillers (opioid medications) blood doping and epo have come to the forefront of this epidemic, with record numbers of people abusing them, overdosing on them, and dying from them. Regardless of Gray Death’s drug mixture, there’s no doubt that it’s a dangerous blend.
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If someone you know is exhibiting signs of an overdose, seek emergency medical attention immediately. If you or someone you know is struggling with drug abuse or addiction, seek professional help. If someone you’re with shows any of the above signs, it can indicate a drug overdose. Some reports have noted gray death could be resistant to naloxone (Narcan), although controlled clinical studies are not available. First responders should immediately call 911 or other emergency personnel.
The Ohio attorney general’s office has analyzed eight samples matching the gray death mixture from around the state. Opioids killed more than 33,000 people in the United States in 2015. More than 16 out of every 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose that year, compared to just over 6 in 1999, according to the U.S.
“Gray death” is the latest, “scariest” opioid drug threat
Fentanyl-related deaths spiked so high in Ohio in 2015 that state health officials asked the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send scientists to help address the problem. “You don’t know what you’re getting with these things,” Webber said. “Every time you shoot up, you’re literally playing Russian roulette with your life.”
You can also combine treatment options, which can help you feel stronger along the road to recovery. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include Micromedex (updated 3 Mar 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 4 Mar 2024), ASHP (updated 10 Mar 2024) and others. “We’ve not yet seen a national proliferation of the ‘gray death’ substance,” the DEA spokesman wrote. Georgia’s investigation bureau has received 50 overdose cases in the past three months involving gray death, most from the Atlanta area, said spokeswoman Nelly Miles.
Can you reverse the effects of gray death?
Gray Death refers to a fatal substance that combines several different drugs. “Gray death is one of the scariest combinations that I have ever seen in nearly 20 years of forensic chemistry drug analysis,” Deneen Kilcrease, manager of the chemistry section at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said. Larkin said heroin addicts are always chasing a stronger high, no matter the risks. The a proclamation on national youth substance use prevention month 2021 Georgia Bureau of Investigation has received 50 overdose cases in the past three months involving gray death, most from the Atlanta area, said spokeswoman Nelly Miles. “Gray death is one of the scariest combinations that I have ever seen in nearly 20 years of forensic chemistry drug analysis,” said Deneen Kilcrease, manager of the chemistry section at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
