WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — It’s so dangerous, a tiny amount can kill a vast number of people.
With more than two pounds of fentanyl seized in Wheeling after a major drug bust, it’s worth asking—why is the opioid spreading so quickly?
U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld says it’s becoming more common for dealers to mix fentanyl into cocaine.
Not only does it create a more powerful high for their users, it means they’re more likely to come back for more.
A once a month cocaine user, if fentanyl is added to it, they might become a once a week user, or an every day user. They want to come back more often because it’s more addictive when you add just a little bit of fentanyl to it.
William Ihlenfeld, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of WV
It’s dangerous for the people that agree to use it, it’s dangerous for the people that are using other drugs that have no idea it’s actually fentanyl, it’s dangerous for citizens that may encounter it, and it’s dangerous for police officers and others that provide services to the folks that are overdosing or may otherwise have drugs on their persons.
Chief Shawn Schwertfeger, Wheeling Police
Chief Schwertfeger calls it a huge war made worse by shipments from the southern border, and even ones flown in from other continents.