Heroin Overdoses on the Rise in Marathon County
Friday, June 17th, 2016 -- 11:27 AM
(Mike Kobs, WDLB) -Marathon County law enforcement officials say there have been seven heroin overdoses in the county since June 7th, including one fatality.The overdoses this month have occurred in Rothschild, Rib Mountain, Wausau, Kronenwetter, and in the Town of Knowlton and the Town of Ringle, with victims between the ages of 19 and 41. Marathon County Chief Deputy Chad Billeb said that while the agencies do not know exactly what combination of drugs have caused the spike yet, they believe it is likely heroin laced with Fentanyl, which is between 80 and 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than most heroin...
"We are very concerned that people who are out there purchasing drugs to use illegally may not know this and may be unwittingly taking these drugs, no knowing that they're laced."
Several of these individuals were unresponsive when found, and saved using the anti-opiate overdose medication naloxone, which is commonly called Narcan. Billeb said that none of the police agencies carry narcan on them at all times because most of the time, they aren't the first responders...
"If you've got a full time fire department, they usually beat the police officers to the scene. I can tell you, in a rural setting, the fire departments almost always beat us there, so it's more practical for them to carry that in their vehicles."
The problem isn’t unique to Marathon County. At Neillsville’s City Council meeting on Tuesday, during the Report of Officers by Neillsville Police Chief Scott Klueckmann stated that even here in Clark County we’re seeing more methamphetamine and other drug cases.
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