In the last 72 hours, 75 people have overdosed and one has died on Chicago’s West Side. The sudden spike in overdose due to heroin has baffled the authorities who now believe that the heroin was tainted. The news has shocked the residents of the city, as heroin-induced cases have caused several people to collapse, making Chicago the foremost city to have hospital visits related to drugs than any other city in the United States.
Mount Sinai, which tended to the patients, said that they collapsed immediately after injecting themselves with heroin. They were rushed to the hospital, but the doctors faced a hard time reviving them, as standard treatments did not work. The hospital does reveal that they found painkiller fentanyl in the system of the patients. They suspect the painkiller to be one of the ingredients in the heroin to have caused theoverdose. Acting deputy administrator for the DEA said, “Add fentanyl to heroin, its potency goes through the roof.”
Health authorities have taken this issue up with the Drug Enforcement Administration to help them get to the bottom of this tragedy and have allowed paramedics to carry additional Narcan and a nasal inhaler with them.
With the standard treatment for heroin overdose proving to be ineffective, the only option for hospitals is to equip the first responders with additional medical supplies to revive patients and keep them breathing while they take them to the hospital for further treatment. A spokesperson for the Chicago Fire Department said, “We don’t know if it’s the beginning, middle, or end of the surge.”
Authorities are doing all they can do to stop the occurrence of 
heroin-related overdose and have immersed themselves in the investigation. They aim to find out if the heroin sold in the area is tainted and if it is, to catch the perpetrators and put an end to the city’s nightmare. The High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force of the department is in charge of the investigation.
A source close to the scene witnessed a man, who later died, refuse to get treatment for heroin overdose. He began to lash out at the paramedics and finally, collapsed. The paramedics revived the man. But hours later he again injected himself with another dose of heroin. The second time around, the man did not survive.
This has convinced the authorities that tainted heroin is being sold, as the same man cannot have overdosed twice. John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County has also received several patients who had overdosed on heroin. Emergency medicine physician Dr. Steven Bowman at Stroger said, “There [were] nine in a day […] in a fairly short period of time, which is unusual.”
Even though users have said that the current batch of heroin is not cut with fentanyl, the authorities still cannot rule anything out, but give a warning to heroin users to be aware of the possible tainting. The authorities will investigate areas such as Pulaski Road, Madison streets, and several public parks on the West Side, as that is where most people choose to get high.
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