How much worse can it get? – 

May 30, 2020 – Harris said CPD has seen an increase “in fentanyl and substances that are even stronger than heroin” this year, with some cases of drug users expecting to receive heroin from their dealers, but getting “straight fentanyl” instead.

Fentanyl is powerful synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and is often added heroin to increase its potency or disguise the drug as highly potent heroin, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says.

“People might think they’re getting a particular drug, while in reality not knowing what’s in it,” Harris said. “There have been times when people thought they were getting heroin, but it ended up being straight fentanyl and not heroin at all.”

“These substances are something that a person can use one time and it ends their lives,” Harris added.

@TheRepublic