Alaska State Troopers are reporting the presence of high levels of fentanyl in what was suspected heroin seized in Quinhagak.
The drugs had been tested by the State Crime Lab. Troopers report more fentanyl in the drugs than heroin and say it’s an unwelcome trend sweeping the country.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
It’s likely responsible for higher overdose rates and deaths, Troopers said.
The drugs are related to four apparent heroin overdoses – one fatal – that troopers reported in earlier this month in Quinhagak, a Kuskokwim Bay village of about 700 people.
Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.
