Street tablets could be laced with fentanyl, warns doctor
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Homemade tablets which might be laced with fentanyl are to be sent for analysis amid fears their circulation in the community could lead to an increase in overdoses and drug deaths.
Dr Austin O'Carroll, a founder of Safetynet Primary Care and HSE clinical lead in the Covid-19 response for people who are homeless, tweeted at the weekend that he was concerned about reports of fentanyl-laced tablets in the community.
He told the he had received two reports about the possible presence of the pills on the streets and that he expected he would be provided with one this week, which will then be sent for analysis.
"That would be extremely worrying," Dr O'Carroll said of the prospect. He said this was because fentanyl was stronger than heroin and whereas injecting was required to overdose on heroin, an overdose on fentanyl could occur through smoking the drug.
Dr O'Carroll said it could also hint at the possibility of drug dealers trying to introduce the drug onto the market, given that it is easier to transport in higher quantities than heroin and therefore potentially more profitable.
"It is a homemade tablet. It has a name on it.This is what they use on the streets, tablets made in people's houses. This one is a new one that we haven't seen," he said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said more than 100,000 people died from overdoses in the US in a 12-month period ending last April, with fentanyl playing a large role.
According to Dr O'Carroll, there have been fears here for a number of years of fentanyl taking hold, but it has never happened.
"We all expected that crack cocaine would be a big problem for many years, it took 10 years and now it is a big problem," he said. "We tend to be behind the trend and behind the States. There is this fear that it will hit eventually."
Last month a report indicated that crack cocaine use in parts of Tallaght, in Dublin had increased dramatically, with a third of referrals for crack use involving women, including young mothers.
He said there could be an overlap between some of the people vulnerable to any such tablet for sale and some of those also accessing homeless services.
The response to Covid-19 among the homeless population has been very effective so far, with a very small number of deaths, but Dr O'Carroll said fresh efforts were being made to get as many service-users vaccinated and boosted as quickly as possible amid the threat posed by the new Omicron variant.
He said those involved were trying to have as many vulnerable people locked down as much as possible. "We are keeping our fingers crossed because we are expecting it [the virus] to fly because people live in different circumstances [in homeless accommodation]."
He said many of those in emergency accommodation had received a Johnson vaccine, which appears to offer shorter periods of protection, emphasising the need for swift booster rollout.