Heroin packets branded with a Batman stamp have caused 49 overdoses in Camden County, New Jersey over the last week. None of them were fatal. Cooper University Hospital reported that every patient it revived from an OD admitted to using the “Batman” heroin.
The Courier-Post said that last week, dealers were giving out free samples of the Batman-stamped packets. This is usually done to develop a clientele—with users overdosing like crazy, it will hype up the potency of the brand, making more junkies anxious to get their hands on it.
Police put out a statement that said while all heroin can be lethal, this particular Batman brand is causing an unprecedented amount of overdoses and should be avoided. “Potentially lethal brand of heroin stamps labeled Batman identified in Camden County area,” the New Jersey State Police posted on its Facebook page last weekend. “While it is our job to enforce the law, it is also our job to preserve life. And that’s exactly what this post is about.”
The Facebook post continued: “Although every dose of heroin is potentially lethal, the NJ Regional Operations and Intelligence Center (Rock) has identified a brand of heroin stamp labeled, Batman, as being associated with overdoses. As of this morning, Cooper EMS is tracking at least 49 suspected non-fatal overdoses within Camden City since August 23. No other stamps other than Batman have been mentioned as being used. We’re asking you to share this because it may save a life. Not all addicted are too far gone to recover.”
With 52,721 drug arrests in New Jersey in 2014, the state has been battling a tremendous heroin problem that is representative of what our nation as a whole is facing. NJ.com reported that there are over 128,000 active heroin users in the state today. People are dying so fast in New Jersey from heroin overdoses that the state doesn’t even have enough beds in treatment to help them recover.
With drug overdose now the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, opiate addiction, specifically, is on its way to becoming our nation’s number one killer. With carfentanil and other stronger opiates filtering to users, taking heroin is becoming really scary right now.
As cities become known for heroin and cartels pump the drug into communities at cheaper prices and higher potency levels, the national epidemic sustains its momentum—a momentum carried by overdoses and death.