Police throughout Massachusetts are warning residents about a tainted batch of heroin that has led to numerous deaths in just one week. The heroin has been found in baggies labeled “Hollywood.” Heroin overdoses in the towns of Holyoke, Palmer, Chicopee led to a combined total of eight deaths since Dec. 30. Lt. Jim Albert of the Holyoke Police Criminal Investigations Bureau said that the incidents in his town “involve subjects who had ingested heroin and became unconscious.”
Springfield police seized over 9,000 bags of “Hollywood” heroin and four people were arrested in conjunction with trafficking this specific heroin. Police found 8,000 of the bags hidden inside a car bumper. Police decided to issue a press release about the drugs in an effort to warn users of potential dangers.
“We wanted to warn them,” said Albert. “I know you’re out there buying these bags, but you have to be careful. This stuff will kill you.”
However, heroin overdoses have remained a consistent problem throughout the state. State police recently released data showing that 755 fatal heroin overdoses occurred in 2015, with the average age of the victims being 36. The final tally is likely much higher because it doesn’t include suspected fatal overdoses where local police investigate the deaths instead of state officials, including Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield. In addition, opioids have been responsible for more deaths in the state than car accidents and guns combined.
“The opioid epidemic affects us all, as families from every walk of life see the deadly impact these drugs are having,” said Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement last August. “The solution to eradicating opioids is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and we are fighting this disease with every approach available, including better analysis of where and why people succumb to the disease.”
State officials introduced several new bills last year to address the ongoing opioid problem. Among them are the Protect Our Infants Act, which would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct research and work with state agencies to collect data on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome; the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act, which would grant protection from civil liabilities to anyone trained to administer naloxone; and National All-Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization, which would give a much needed boost to the state’s prescription drug monitoring program.
The bipartisan Protect Our Infants Act was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives last September and now awaits approval from the Senate. This was particularly crucial for Massachusetts, whose rates of NAS are triple the national average.
