Potent Heroin

We had a very concerning spike in heroin-related deaths this last December (8 in one month), which seemed to be a part of an apparent trend in such deaths. Because we found no adulterants in the specimens we obtained at the scenes of these deaths, nor in the bodies of those decedents, our thought was that there must have been a spike in the concentration of the heroin used. (As I was quoted in one article, it brought to mind the movie “American Gangster” in which a more pure heroin brought to Harlem resulted in a large number of deaths in the users.)

We felt that the concentration or purity was important information to know for our death investigations in these cases; as well it would be important information for local law enforcement agencies. We were able to get the DEA to do the testing for us.

The results have just come back. While they reinforce our opinion, they are nonetheless striking. We were able to send samples from 2 cases. (For comparison, let me mention that currently the average purity in Chicago is about 15%) In one case the purity was 23%. That is an increase of 50%. If you are used to shooting 15% stuff, a jump in purity of 50% certainly has the potential for lethality. The other specimen was even more impressive. It had a purity of 65%. That would be high-grade for snorting, if you shoot it you die with your syringe under your body.

I certainly do not advocate heroin use and support increased availability of treatment for addiction, but I also think it is crucial that we get this sort of information out so that users can know. When you get this stuff “on the streets” you never know the quality of the stuff. It could have lethal adulterants. It could be a lethal concentration. Maybe knowing that will deter some from using.


A couple of other points: I would note that we are working on developing the capability to do future purity testing in our lab; we are the only Coroner’s office in Illinois with our own toxicology lab. Once that is established we will be able to follow this trend continuously and help local law enforcement agencies with fast turn around in these results for their investigations.

The other piece we are working on is to better “quantify” the observation that these heroin deaths are not confined to our poorer neighborhoods, but span the county and its varied socioeconomic climes. That tells us that this is not a “disease” of the poor and that it is not a “gang problem”, both of which are ingrained opinions that need to be dispelled if we are to realistically address and remedy this problem of heroin use and heroin-related deaths.