Doctor warns heroin users hit hard with bad batch in La Crosse

Laced with Fentanyl, it’s
50-100 times more potent

It will be too late for an over-the-counter heroin overdose antidote in the area.

Walgreens announced Tuesday it would be selling Narcan over the counter, but it won’t come in time for what a Gundersen Health System doctor has said is a very potent and dangerous batch of heroin going through the area.

Dr. Chris Eberlein says some heroin users treated this week for overdoses claim the drug was unusually strong, apparently combined with the painkiller Fentanyl.

“They add another drug to it, and usually it’s a synthetic opiate called Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than the heroin,” Eberlein said.

He warned that, if users can’t stop completely, that they take a smaller does, because of the potential it’s been laced with Fentanyl.

“A couple of the people that have … been woke up by Narcan (or naloxone) have said this is the strongest drug they’ve ever used,” Eberlein said.

Walgreens will start making the antidote naloxone available without prescription at pharmacies in Wisconsin and 34 other states.

The drug comes as an injection and nasal spray. It’s covered by most insurance plans, but will cost around $78 per dose for those without insurance with Walgreens prescription savings club.

Last September, CVS pharmacies began selling Narcan over the counter in 12 states, including Wisconsin and Minnesota. It plans to expand from 15 now to 20 in the near future. It could be purchased there for $40-50 in two-dose packages.