CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Authorities in Charleston report nearly three dozen drug overdose cases in less than 24 hours in the Capital City that may have been caused by what’s called the zombie drug.
The city’s Chief of Staff Matt Sutton said most of the overdoses came Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. He said it was one right after the other for several hours.
“It was extremely busy night and a scary night in the city of Charleston,” Sutton told MetroNews Thursday.
Most of the overdoses were in the Flats neighborhood on the city’s West Side.
All of the overdose victims were brought back by Narcan, no deaths have been reported.
“It (Narcan) was effective in these overdoses but we did see a little bit different response, mostly a little bit toward the violent end and the confusing end as related to coming out of the Narcan,” Sutton said.
Charleston Deputy Police Chief Jason Webb said preliminary investigators believe those who overdosed took fentanyl that was laced with the drug Xylazine. It’s commonly referred to as trank or the zombie drug.
“It’s cheap and easy to mix with fentanyl. It makes the high last longer,” Webb said.
Lab testing will determine exactly what was used, Webb said.
Webb agreed with Sutton that Narcan produced different reactions. He said many times after being brought back by Narcan OD victims sign a release form and are not hospitalized. He said that wasn’t the case with the rash of ODs Wednesday night.
A CPD investigation is underway on who is responsible providing and selling the drug on the streets. Webb said Xylazine has become more and more popular.
Sutton said the city’s CARE team, which responds to all overdoses, coordinated with police, firefighters and ambulance crews.
“Charleston is very fortunate to have a coordinating effort to be able to know what’s going on and be able to communicate with the police department and fire department,” Sutton said.
Along with the 30 to 35 overdoses in Charleston, there were a few others reported in other areas of Kanawha County.