Three more men in St. Tammany Parish died from apparent drug overdoses over the weekend.
"Coroner Dr. Charles Preston is sounding the alarm," Spokesman James Hartman said in a news release.
He says all three happened over a 24 hour period.
"Since Saturday evening, a 39-year-old male in Bush, a 34-year-old male in Pearl River, and a 37-year-old male in Slidell have died of suspected opioid overdoses."
The medical examiner says this is happening all too often.
“Last summer, we had two unrelated young people in different parts of the parish die of overdoses in a 12-hour period, and toxicology reports confirmed both expired from consumption of Fentanyl,” Preston said. “This weekend’s surge is equally alarming.”
He says that Fentanyl is now arguably the deadliest drug in the world.
Drug dealers are increasingly adding Fentanyl to other drugs including marijuana.
Preston says some dealers are also selling pills that claim to be other substances, but are actually Fentanyl.
“The mantra that ‘one pill can kill’ isn’t just a slogan,” Preston said. “Unless it comes from a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription, you shouldn’t put it in your body.”
He urges everyone to avoid the narcotics currently being peddled on the streets of St. Tammany Parish.
"Family and friends of illicit drug users should also be particularly alert, and should stock Narcan if possible; when administered quickly after an overdose, Narcan can often reverse an opioid overdose."
The Centers for Disease Control says more then 100,00 people die from drug overdoses in the United States annually. In the last full year statistics, more than 80% of those were due to opioid overdoses.
