Facebook/St. Mary Parish Sheriff's OfficeNews outlets have recently warned that apparently just touching the drug ‘gray death’ could be fatal – but we spoke to a police official who says otherwise.
While taking the drug could be fatal and definitely isn’t advised, reports that touching it can kill have been misconstrued.
‘Gray death’ is described as a lethal combination of some of the most deadly opioids including heroin, fentanyl, and various fentanyl analogues. It is reported to have a potency 10,000 times greater than morphine.
Facebook/St. Mary Parish Sheriff's OfficeSpeaking to UNILAD, David Spencer, public information officer for St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, said they warned people not to touch the relatively new drug because of it’s ‘possibly harmful ingredients’.
Spencer explained why the warned people not to touch the drug:
It appears that some media persons have “elaborated” and “taken liberties” with the wording in their stories. We have advised the public not to touch this drug or any illicit drugs due to the possible harmful ingredients in such drugs.
Gray death heroin is cut with fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in unknown quantities. It is a strong drug, and touching it could be problematic as you can imagine. Not necessarily to death through the skin, however touching substances then transferring to clothing, the face, eyes, mouth, etc. could result in exposure to the drug in some way.
Our original intent was to inform the public in our area as well as law enforcement that we have seen this relatively new drug in our area.
We have no illnesses or deaths in our area as this is the first time we have seen the drug in this parish. We are not aware of any deaths from it in Louisiana.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff's OfficeReports of the drug dubbed ‘gray death’ due to its colour first surfaced in 2017 in Alabama and Georgia.
Local Atlanta news outlet AJC reported in 2017 that there had been 22 deaths caused by the drug in the space of a year and that 50 others had suffered seizures from the dangerous drug in Georgia.
It was reported the first confirmed death in Georgia caused by the drug was of 24-year-old Lauren Camp, who was found dead in a bathtub three years ago.
In 2017, it was reported that seven people died in a 24 hour bracket in New York from a suspected ‘bad batch of heroin’.
Facebook/St. Mary Parish Sheriff's OfficeThe drug has since appeared in more places around the USA including Louisiana which is what caused the St. Mary’s Parish Sherrif’s Department to warn people of the dangers of it.
Upon discovering the ‘gray death’ in their area, they released a statement on their Facebook page.
The post reads:
In order to be clear on our story, let us reiterate that this is the first time we have seen this drug by our agency in St. Mary Parish. We are quite sure that the drug has been found in other places in Louisiana, but in our area and parish, this is a bit of a rare find for us.
As far as this drug or any other illicit drug, touching or handling them is not advisable. These drugs contain harmful ingredients in unknown amounts. Many times these drugs are accompanied by needles and other drug paraphernalia which can be dangerous.
If you encounter illicit drugs, please contact law enforcement and let the authorities deal with and remove these drugs.
***UPDATE***.In order to be clear on our story, let us reiterate that this is the first time we have seen this drug by…
Posted by St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office on Friday, January 31, 2020
Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab supervisor Deneen Kilcrease, who worked on the case of Lauren Camp’s death, previously told Channel 2 Action News that, with the ingredients of the drug in mind, she ‘didn’t see how anyone could survive it’.
So, while the drug may not kill you by simply touching it, consuming the drug could potentially be fatal.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or email via http://www.talktofrank.com/contact 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Or Live Chat at http://www.talktofrank.com/livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.
Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.