Georgia Officials Find Potent New Form Of Fentanyl In Mass Overdoses

ATLANTA, GA -- State analysts investigating mass overdoses in parts of Middle and South Georgia have found a new substance they were not previously familiar with, authorities said. Analysts in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab said they need more time to look into the substance, which has killed four people and sickened more than a dozen people in rural parts of the state.

"Preliminary results indicate a mixture of two synthetic opioids, with one of the drugs being consistent with a new fentanyl analogue," a news release from GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said Wednesday.

Over a 48-hour period earlier this week, hospitals in several Georgia cities, including Centerville, Perry, Macon and Warner Robins, reported overdoses -- and fatalities related to street drugs taken under the pretense that they were prescription drugs.

Early reports indicate the culprit to be a street drug that the victims believed was Percocet. Miles said earlier in the week that first responders found people in various states of consciousness, including some not breathing.

Read more: GBI Confirms Georgia's First 'Gray Death' Drug Fatality

The recent wave of overdoses is centered around the illicit use of fentanyl, a synthetic opiate painkiller, that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine or heroin. In fact, state officials have said that fentanyl is so potent that overdoses have been reported via accidental contact.

It is not known whether state officials have any indication of how widespread the new fentanyl-based substance is in the state or its origins.

"This fentanyl analogue has not previously been identified by the GBI Crime Lab," the GBI said in a news release."Due to the nature of the analysis, testing to confirm the full identity of the drug will require additional time."

The victims were given massive doses of the emergency drug Naloxone, which medical personnel use to counter the effects of opioid overdoses.

Georgia, and specifically metro Atlanta, has become ground zero for the trafficking of fake pills masquerading as prescription pain medications, according to state officials.

The GBI issued a public safety warning last month about counterfeit pills containing transdermal drugs, meaning they can be absorbed through the skin. The agency has issued a public safety alert after receiving pills with external markings indicating that it was one substance, when it was another. The GBI Crime Lab has seen 454 exhibits of counterfeit pills since 2015, the agency said in May.

Read more: Dangerous fake pills rampant in Georgia

"In one instance, the crime lab received a pill with markings consistent with oxycodone (non-transdermal drug) but determined that the pill actually contained fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, and U-47700 (street name 'pink') (all transdermal drugs)," the agency said in a May news release.

The findings prompted the GBI Crime Lab to conduct a study on other counterfeit pills submitted to the agency by law enforcement agencies across Georgia. The study's findings show that metro Atlanta is No.1 in the state for the trafficking of counterfeit pills. The overwhelming majority of the top counterfeited logos were alprazolam (Xanax) and oxycodone.
"Of particular concern were transdermal drugs in the opiate drug class that were disguised as oxycodone, a non-transdermal drug. In 2017 so far, there were 8 fentanyl, 6 furanyl fentanyl, and 15 U-47700 (pink) pills that were embossed as non-transdermal drugs," the agency said.

Along with the GBI, the Georgia Department of Public Health and Georgia Poison Center continue to investigate the mass overdoses as a top priority.

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