HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Mayor Steve Williams says it wasn’t just a bad batch of heroin that caused 26 overdoses in his city in less than six hours Monday.
“It’s all bad. Every batch is bad. Anybody that sticks a needle in their arm they are on the verge of killing themselves,” Williams told Charleston Mayor Danny Jones on Jones’ 580-Live talk show Tuesday on 580 WCHS. “There’s no such thing as a bad batch. It’s all bad.”
Amazingly no one died as result of the overdoses, Williams said, adding it will take some time for toxicology tests to come back on what had been added to the heroin. The drug Fentanyl and Carfentanyl are being used in some areas. Carfentanyl is an elephant tranquilizer, the mayor said.
The Washington Post reported on the drug and the concern of law enforcement in its Aug. 12 edition.
“Carfentanil is the most potent commercial opioid in the world — 10,000 times stronger than morphine — and law enforcement from northwest Canada to the eastern U.S. have raised alarms about it tainting heroin batches, and even being sold as the drug itself,” the paper said.
There’s something much stronger than regular heroin coming through Huntington, Mayor Williams said.
“In that one period of time from 3:30 to 9 p.m, with that many overdoses, you know something awful is happening,” he said.
The mayor was spending Tuesday morning trying to get counseling help for some first responders who were on the scene of multiple overdoses.
“We had some who saved eight different lives. When you are dealing with that time, after time, after time—imagine having to deal with that level of trauma during the day–imagine what effect that would have on you personally,” Williams said.
The mayor isn’t sure where the problem is going to stop.
“They have such a craving. They have to have something that they don’t know what they are putting in their arm. They could be putting antifreeze in their arm,” Williams said.
Williams was also a guest on MetroNews “Talkline” Tuesday. View interview above.