'AVOID IT' Doctors warn about Fentanyl's potentially fatal effect
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After a Harris County Sheriff's deputy was treated for exposure to a Fentanyl-laced flyer on Tuesday, there are fears that more tainted flyers could be out there.
Doctors at Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center say any exposure to the drug, whether you touch it or breath it in, can be fatal because it is so powerful. They add that even a dose as small as two milligrams can be deadly.
Medical professionals say Fentanyl should be handled similar to the way you would handle a hazardous chemical spill, adding the average person does not have the skill or tools to safely dispose of Fentanyl.
Unfortunately, there is virtually no way to know if it is on a piece of paper or if another illegal drug has been spiked with it.
So what should you do?
"The only way to safely handle it is to avoid it," said Dr. Mike Leath, medical director at the center.
Dr. Leath says he does not believe the average person will come into contact with Fentanyl. However, he says it is in the heroin supply and that addicts are coming into recovery centers trying to kick their addictions because of the problems with Fentanyl.
Fentanyl is used by hospitals on patients but only under extremely strict guidelines.
In Tuesday's incident with the deputy, flyers were found on several patrol vehicles outside the station on Lockwood.
The flyers appear to have come from Targetedjustice.com, a website that delves into conspiracy theories and claims that the government is targeting and controlling individuals psychologically through microwave beams.
The tough part for investigators is that it could have been anyone who printed and passed out these flyers. The only clues on the flyers themselves may be fingerprints.
Authorities are now arming themselves with Narcan in case they are accidentally exposed to the drug.
