Epidemic Within the Pandemic
In a November 2021 update, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 100,000 people died from overdoses in a 12-month period ending in April—the biggest increase ever seen in the U.S. The culprit? Fentanyl, which was the factor in 60 percent of the fatal overdoses. That represented a massive 50 percent increase in a single year.
Killer Counterfeit Pills
In a November 2021 update, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 100,000 people died from overdoses in a 12-month period ending in April—the biggest increase ever seen in the U.S. The culprit? Fentanyl, which was the factor in 60 percent of the fatal overdoses. That represented a massive 50 percent increase in a single year.
The headline in the November 23, 2021 U.S. edition of the London-based newspaper The Guardian reads: “It’s devastating: how fentanyl is unfolding as one of America’s greatest tragedies.” Writer Melody Schreiber quotes Nora Volkow, the director of the Natural Institute on Drug Abuse, as saying, “It’s an epidemic within the pandemic…what we didn’t expect was that during that period there [would] be a massive increase in the entry of these illicit substances into the country.”
Luca Manuel, a 13-year old who died of an accidental overdose in August 2020, when a pill he thought was Percocet was laced with fentanyl. Photograph: Amanda Faith/Reuters
The narrative of the article opened with 13-year-old Lucas Manual. In August 2020, after six months of remote learning, he was excited to become an eighth grader at his school in Redding, California, home. He wanted to be at his best, but Manual was still suffering mouth pain from a root canal performed on him a week earlier. Rather than seek help from a pharmacy, he logged onto Snapchat and sought to get marijuana to relieve the pain. A dealer replied and said he had something better: Percocet.
Shortly after he received his pain-free pills in the mail, Manual popped his first dose while playing a video game. He was dead within minutes of overdosing. An investigation found that the pill was a counterfeit that had been cut with fentanyl.
Manual’s case is not unique in our society. There’s a higher chance today for a lethal fentanyl hit. Even people who are not addicted to opioids but occasionally take drugs for a recreational high are susceptible to die from one miniscule encounter with the illicit drug.
Daniel Ciccarone, the Justine Miner endowed professor of addiction medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told the Guardian, “The trajectory is up, with no leveling off. There’s nothing that says it’s slowing down. Counterfeit pills are a big part of the story. They look all the world like the real thing.”
There are some solutions to these F-bomb surprises, including the recently developed inexpensive test strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl cut into other drugs, from opioid pain pills to cocaine. And if there is a fentanyl overdose, the naloxone medication can rapidly reverse the effects. However, the med’s price has increased this year and that has led to an alarming shortage.
Brice Harrath shares his story of overdosing on opioids and being administered a life-saving dose of naloxone. He encourages others to be trained to use the medication in the event of the overdose of a friend or family member.
This remains one of our country’s greatest health cataclysms. As Covid-19 deaths rise toward 800,000 people in the U.S., the fentanyl contagion fatalities certainly pales in comparison. But as the drug agencies and health workers agree, the toll of the drug and its contamination of innocent bystanders is on a wildfire path of destruction. Where will it end?
Perhaps in the matter of justice. To close Manual’s story, justice has been at least partially served. Detectives investigating his death have charged the dealer who sold the youngster the deadly drug with murder.
And another positive: Manual’s mother, Amanda Faith Eubanks, has created a support group for families whose children have encountered a similar fate at the claws of fentanyl.
Author Information
Dan Ouellette is a free-lance journalist and author who has covered a range of topics in his decades long career based in San Francisco and since 1999 a resident of New York City. In California he reported on such stories as the dire work at Oakland’s Highland Hospital Emergency Room and how the building of a jazz club in Oakland helped the city resurrect a district that had been neglected. He also wrote about the cultural history of the Volkswagen Beetle that grew into a book on its history, its social impact and its new life as the New Beetle in 1998 (The Volkswagen Beetle Book). In New York, Ouellette largely turned his attention to the jazz scene of the city and international festivals. He was a writer, editor and teacher at City College. He wrote two biographies, Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes (a story about jazz’s greatest bass player), and Bruce Lundvall: Playing by Ear (about the one of the music industry’s most brilliant ears for signing star artists ranging from Herbie Hancock to Norah Jones). In addition to contributing to different magazines and online publications, Ouellette produces a monthly music column, Jazz & Beyond Intel, on his website: danouellette.net. He can be reached at danouell33@gmail.com.
Fentanyl - Chemical Weapons Attack
The word is only slowly getting out in media circles about the dangers of illicit fentanyl trafficking.
In the 2019 The New York Times Magazine story “The China Connection: How a DEA Agent Cracked a Global Fentanyl Ring,” author Alex W. Palmer wrote: “A kilogram of fentanyl, purchased for only a few thousand dollars, can be mixed with heroin and made into a couple million dollars’ worth of pills. By contrast, a kilogram of undiluted heroin nets less than $80,000 in profit.”
Dangers of illicit fentanyl Trafficking
The word is only slowly getting out in media circles about the dangers of illicit fentanyl trafficking.
In the 2019 The New York Times Magazine story “The China Connection: How a DEA Agent Cracked a Global Fentanyl Ring,” author Alex W. Palmer wrote: “A kilogram of fentanyl, purchased for only a few thousand dollars, can be mixed with heroin and made into a couple million dollars’ worth of pills. By contrast, a kilogram of undiluted heroin nets less than $80,000 in profit.”
In a 2020 episode of the National Geographic Television documentary series Trafficked, intrepid journalist Mariana van Zeller traced the fentanyl pipeline that has produced the most devastating drug epidemic in U.S. history. She used anonymous and masked informants to take her a step at a time into the dangerous world of the Mexican drug cartels. Van Zeller and her team witnessed kegs of fentanyl dropped into the ocean off the Mexican coast from international container ships.
History of Fentanyl in America | Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller
They then followed the route the drug traffickers took to get the raw material to low-quality labs where the fake pills and powders were manufactured. The team then shadowed the delivery of the fentanyl through the border patrol after the smugglers coated the drug packages with coffee grinds, mustard and fabric softeners to successfully avoid detection of drug-sniffing patrol dogs.
On the Fox News Channel show Justice with Judge Jeanine, host Jeanine Pirro spoke with former DEA Special Agent Derek Maltz about drug trafficking. He said that fentanyl seizures by the Border Patrol in the El Paso Sector had increased 4,000 per cent since 2018. “In Orange County, it’s been reported that there’s been a 1,000 per cent increase since 2016,” he said. “Then there were 30 deaths a year. Now it’s over 4o0. This is a chemical weapons attack.”
Fox Justice with Jeanine with former DEA Special Agent in Charge Derek Maltz
Author Information
Dan Ouellette is a free-lance journalist and author who has covered a range of topics in his decades long career based in San Francisco and since 1999 a resident of New York City. In California he reported on such stories as the dire work at Oakland’s Highland Hospital Emergency Room and how the building of a jazz club in Oakland helped the city resurrect a district that had been neglected. He also wrote about the cultural history of the Volkswagen Beetle that grew into a book on its history, its social impact and its new life as the New Beetle in 1998 (The Volkswagen Beetle Book). In New York, Ouellette largely turned his attention to the jazz scene of the city and international festivals. He was a writer, editor and teacher at City College. He wrote two biographies, Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes (a story about jazz’s greatest bass player), and Bruce Lundvall: Playing by Ear (about the one of the music industry’s most brilliant ears for signing star artists ranging from Herbie Hancock to Norah Jones). In addition to contributing to different magazines and online publications, Ouellette produces a monthly music column, Jazz & Beyond Intel, on his website: danouellette.net. He can be reached at danouell33@gmail.com.
The Fatal Facts
Most people don’t recognize the dangers. Rock stars battling injuries from fatigue on the road have fallen prey to taking pain-killing drugs laced with fentanyl. Two of the music’s superstars fell into that category: Prince and Tom Petty.
Sports stars also have to be aware. Recently former Boston Bruins’ hockey player Jimmy Hayes died, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts, “from acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine.” He became addicted to painkillers after suffering a hockey injury.
Killer Drug
Most people don’t recognize the dangers. Rock stars battling injuries from fatigue on the road have fallen prey to taking pain-killing drugs laced with fentanyl. Two of the music’s superstars fell into that category: Prince and Tom Petty.
Tom Petty at age 66 accidentally overdoses after mixing a variety of medications which included fentanyl.
Former NHL player Jimmy Hayes died from fentanyl and cocaine intoxication, M.E. determines
Sports stars also have to be aware. Recently former Boston Bruins’ hockey player Jimmy Hayes died, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts, “from acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine.” He became addicted to painkillers after suffering a hockey injury.
Created in October 2020 and now hosting close to 7 million visitors, the podcast “Fatal Facts of Fentanyl” at facebook.com/offentanyl has served as an action group raising the awareness of lethal fentanyl with stories of poisonings and overdosing.
The 2021 documentary “Killer High: The Silent Crisis,” produced by Fresno ABC station KFSN-TV and ABC Localish Studio, proved to be a wakeup call for Central California. It focused on two families impacted by the fentanyl epidemic and the reactions of law enforcement and medical professionals. One speaker said, “The biggest threat to Fresno is no longer covid-19.”
To add more fuel to the fire, the horrendous carfentanil analog has found its way into the market and onto the streets with increasing frequency. It’s 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It was manufactured not for human use, but as a tranquilizer for large mammals.
Author Information
Dan Ouellette is a free-lance journalist and author who has covered a range of topics in his decades long career based in San Francisco and since 1999 a resident of New York City. In California he reported on such stories as the dire work at Oakland’s Highland Hospital Emergency Room and how the building of a jazz club in Oakland helped the city resurrect a district that had been neglected. He also wrote about the cultural history of the Volkswagen Beetle that grew into a book on its history, its social impact and its new life as the New Beetle in 1998 (The Volkswagen Beetle Book). In New York, Ouellette largely turned his attention to the jazz scene of the city and international festivals. He was a writer, editor and teacher at City College. He wrote two biographies, Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes (a story about jazz’s greatest bass player), and Bruce Lundvall: Playing by Ear (about the one of the music industry’s most brilliant ears for signing star artists ranging from Herbie Hancock to Norah Jones). In addition to contributing to different magazines and online publications, Ouellette produces a monthly music column, Jazz & Beyond Intel, on his website: danouellette.net. He can be reached at danouell33@gmail.com.
THE UNTOLD STORY: REMEDIATING A TOXIC DRUG DWELLING FOR SAFE REENTRY
What people aren’t aware of is the tragic consequences of overdoses don’t end merely with a user’s death. Wherever a person has engaged in illicit fentanyl use, the dwelling may become a hazardous waste site. Even inhaling a speck of the drug can prove deadly.
THE UNTOLD STORY
The heart-wrenching stories of how heroin, cocaine and opioid addiction is taking lives and devastating those in the wake of overdoses are all too familiar. Today, users and law enforcers are grappling with an unprecedented crisis fueled by a lesser-known but even more lethal substance: synthetic fentanyl sold on the black market.
Drug dealers are lacing heroin and cocaine with fentanyl to increase their effect which can be deadly.
Up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, pharmaceutical fentanyl began with noble intentions. It was first developed in 1959 as an intravenous pain treatment. However, in the last decade, consumption of illicit fentanyl—smuggled to the U.S. from Mexican drug cartels and Chinese labs—ranks as one of the leading causes of death here, greater than fatalities caused by car crashes, HIV or gunshot wounds.
Lethal dose of fentanyl and carfentanil.
In September 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported more than 93,000 people died of a drug overdose in the U.S. in 2020, an increase of 30 percent from the previous year. It blames the rise on the increased use of fentanyl sold on the streets. Illicit fentanyl can range from pharmaceutical fentanyl resold on the streets to illicit labs producing a variety of fentanyl analogs. Currently the most lethal analog is carfentanil, which is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than pharmaceutical fentanyl. It’s becoming a commonly recognized national disaster of epic proportion that spans all socio-economic backgrounds. However, addiction affects more than just its victims and those close to them.
The Untold Story for Hotel and Lodging Owners
What people aren’t aware of is the tragic consequences of overdoses don’t end merely with a user’s death. The untold story: wherever a person has engaged in illicit fentanyl use, the dwelling may have become a hazardous waste site. Even inhaling a speck of the drug can prove deadly. The ramifications impact all who come in contact with the property—from first responders to those tasked with cleaning up. At one site in Northern California, a house cleaner hired to clean a home died within minutes after coming into contact with fentanyl.
Hotel rooms contaminated with fentanyl are rapidly increasing.
For those engaged in the hotel and lodging industry sector, the stakes are especially high. Education is key to keep cleaning staff and guests safe. There are a myriad of issues: testing by the local health governing agency, hiring certified industrial hygienists and workers skilled at hazardous cleanups and disposal. Insurance is also a factor to consider.
But what’s most important is to hire a crew of professionals to get the job done safely.
“If property owners are blindsided by a fentanyl death and do not take the correct steps, guests or employees could also be tragically exposed and lead them wide open to possible lawsuits.” says Jon Schibsted, owner of Safety Services Management (SSM), a Southern California-based company that specializes in fentanyl cleanup.
The Danger of Fentanyl
Lethal fentanyl mixed into cocaine.
Schibsted notes that because fentanyl is a cheap drug for mixing with other narcotics, its reach is widespread. “Not only are drug dealers pressing their own pills, but they are also cutting illicit fentanyl into other drugs to increase their effect,” he says. “The danger is that this is occurring in hotel rooms, apartments, houses, garages and storage facilities which can cause widespread contamination of a site that anyone of us can be exposed to.”
Local public health units may respond to a fentanyl overdose and often red tag the property until all traces of fentanyl are removed. Some agencies will give the owner a packet that includes information about contractors approved to do this specialized remediation cleanup, but often times, the property owner is left on their own to find the appropriate resources.
“The cost is huge,” says Dwane Pianalto, who is a Southern California Registered Environmental Health Specialist (R.E.H.S.). “Such a substantial cost for a hotel, for example, means loss of income. If a site is red tagged, the law says no further occupation is allowed until the remediation is completed. The whole process could take up to 90 days.”
Creating a Site Assessment
Once a site has been red tagged due to fentanyl, a Preliminary Site Assessment is created by a trained professional such as an industrial hygienist. The hygienist will take samples of the site and provide recommendations on cleaning. “We prefer to work directly with the hygienist at the beginning of the process to ensure they sample the site to paint a clearer picture of what needs to be cleaned,” says Schibsted. “If it isn’t done correctly, it can lead to a much higher cleanup cost.”
Samples are sent to an accredited lab for contamination analysis.
Joe McCaffrey, a certified industrial hygienist, explains the process as a series of time consuming, but incredibly important steps, “Various surfaces inside the residence, are sampled for fentanyl contamination. Sampling usually includes walls, floors, furniture, appliances, HVAC systems, and areas that appear to have been impacted by pill presses, smoking, or drug cooking activities. Those samples are then analyzed by an accredited lab which provides the results of contamination. When fentanyl is in powder form, I advise washing all surfaces with a decon solution such as Decon7 or Dahlgen, an oxidation-based cleaner, then using a vacuum with HEPA filters to remove any remaining small particles. Then we test again to make sure the property is safe to reoccupy."
The Nightmare Remediation
All equipment and personnel are decontaminated after each entry.
The whole process can be a nightmare says San Diego resident Greg Gleeson who with his brother in Orange County own 200 rental units in Southern California.
“We got a call from our property manager in San Bernardino that the city had closed down a unit because two people overdosed and a third was rushed to the hospital,” he says. “I showed up and there were people in hazmat suits, and I thought, was my tenant making nuclear bombs or something? Then the police told me that these guys were cutting fentanyl pills in the apartment. They likely inhaled, and it killed them.”
Crews use special cleaning solutions to neutralize fentanyl.
Gleeson said that started him for “a dunk in the deep end.” The property was impounded and red tagged by the fire department and it was determined that it needed a complete remediation by a professional crew. “That’s when I discovered that a small amount of fentanyl like a grain of salt is lethal” he says. He had to move people out of adjoining units, which meant a hit in income for rentals. He also had issues with his insurance coverage that rarely covers damages from drug abuse.
As for his recommendations to other property owners, Gleeson says, “So much of fentanyl is coming through Mexico, so Southern California is being hit the worst. More is coming in, so be prepared. Check your insurance, have a rolodex of cleaning crews, and be ready to hire one for $30,000 plus to fix the whole mess.”
When it comes to keeping your hotel operational, preparing for the worst before it happens can help you keep staff and guests safe, and help keep your hotel in business.
Crews take vitals before and after making entry into a site contaminated with fentanyl.
Author Information
Dan Ouellette is a free-lance journalist and author who has covered a range of topics in his decades long career based in San Francisco and since 1999 a resident of New York City. In California he reported on such stories as the dire work at Oakland’s Highland Hospital Emergency Room and how the building of a jazz club in Oakland helped the city resurrect a district that had been neglected. He also wrote about the cultural history of the Volkswagen Beetle that grew into a book on its history, its social impact and its new life as the New Beetle in 1998 (The Volkswagen Beetle Book). In New York, Ouellette largely turned his attention to the jazz scene of the city and international festivals. He was a writer, editor and teacher at City College. He wrote two biographies, Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes (a story about jazz’s greatest bass player), and Bruce Lundvall: Playing by Ear (about the one of the music industry’s most brilliant ears for signing star artists ranging from Herbie Hancock to Norah Jones). In addition to contributing to different magazines and online publications, Ouellette produces a monthly music column, Jazz & Beyond Intel, on his website: danouellette.net. He can be reached at danouell33@gmail.com.
About Safety Services Management: Safety Services Management was founded by Jon Schibsted, a former firefighter for Los Angeles who received extensive training to become a Hazmat Specialist, and consists of a team of ten emergency response specialists who can quickly respond whenever a property owner calls for assistance remediating a hazmat situation.
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