AG: Dealers may be 'rebranding' deadly Pa. heroin
PITTSBURGH — Drug dealers may be “rebranding” a deadly heroin blend that is being blamed for 22 overdose deaths in Western Pennsylvania, Attorney General Kathleen Kane said.
Kane’s remarks came after state drug agents charged a 29-year-old Clairton man on Thursday with possessing heroin stamped with the name “Sky High.” Heroin dealers stamp individual bags with catchy names that give the drug a street identity.
Earlier this week, Kane and other law enforcement sources confirmed that a heroin blend sold in bags marked “Theraflu” or “Bud Ice” has been linked to the recent rash of fatal overdoses in an around Pittsburgh.
Authorities believe the “Sky High” bags also might contain the same deadly mix of heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic morphine up to 100 times more powerful than heroin.
Kane said there’s reason to believe dealers are trying to sell the same drugs under different labels now that the other names have been publicized.