A new, super-potent type of heroin called “Game of Thrones” is available in some northeastern states, and it has government and law enforcement officials worried.
Police in Lebanon, N.H. recovered several packets of the T.V.-branded heroin after emergency personnel were dispatched to a house where an unnamed 32-year-old man had overdosed, local Boston ABC affiliate, WCVB, reported Tuesday.
Emergency personnel were able to revive the man using Narcon — a drug used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose.
“They recovered some packets of heroin at the scene,” Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello told WCBV. “They also were able to make two arrests.”
After finding the heroin, police were able to trace it back to 30-year old Brock Richardson of Enfield, N.H., who sold it to 21-year-old Caleb Dumont-Willey of Lebanon. Richardson was charged with the sale of a narcotic drug and possession of a narcotic drug with the intent to distribute. Dumont-Willey was charged with possession of a narcotic drug.
The “Game of Thrones” heroin has also been found in Vermont, where it was tied to at least 10 overdoses during this past weekend, the Portland Press Herald reported Monday.
Lebanon police say the drug is most likely a mix of heroin and Fentanyl, which is a powerful drug used for pain.
“Instead of taking one dose, you’re taking 50 doses,” Harry Chen, Vermont Health Commissioner, told WCVB. “And that’s what problematic in terms of overdosing people and killing people.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 10,574 people died from heroin overdoses in 2014, a 26 percent increase from 2013.
Fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, was responsible for 514 overdose deaths in 2014, according to the CDC.
One of the main reasons for heroin overdose is due to the varying potency from batch to batch, add a powerful drug like Fentanyl into the mix and it only exacerbates the problem.
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