A drug dealer in Tennessee has been charged with supplying a dangerous drug to unsuspecting victims who have ended up dead of overdoses.
After a close study on a victim's body fluid sample, it was revealed that they had used a combination of heroin and fentanyl, which they had confused with cocaine.
Cases of fentanyl overdoses have significantly increased in recent years which have reciprocated to the associated deaths of the drug users involved.
According to officials from the Cheatham County Sheriff's Office, back in mid-October 2017, a man in critical condition was delivered to an emergency room in Ashland City.
He was taken good care of and stabilized immediately from the drugs he had consumed. Luckily, he survived the overdose and left the hospital on the same day after treatment.
Officials from the Cheatham County Sheriff's Office stated that the man who was taken to the hospital was under a high influence of fentanyl.
Police officials confirmed that the man, together with two others, had bought the drugs from Haley Smith, a 26-year-old Ashland City resident.
Smith was then arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder for selling drugs that could have resulted in the overdose and death of the buyers.
It did not take long before another case of drug overdose was reported in the Tennessee suburb. This time, the Cheatham County Sheriff's Office said that four people were involved.
Among the four who used fentanyl, one case of overdose led to the death of a victim.
On further investigation, the police were able to connect the victim to one particular drug dealer.
Christopher Stefko, a 39-year-old man, was identified by local law enforcement to have been involved with the death of a 30-year-old man in Chapmansboro, a town in Cheatham County.
His death came at a time when cases of fentanyl overdoses were on the rise while law enforcement scrambled to mitigate fatalities at all cost. It has been a matter of great concern, especially relating to younger generations as they are most affected by overdoses.
Investigators who have been following up on the case believe that Stefko has been traveling all the way from Nashville to Cheatham, where he sold the drugs.
This was found by one undercover agent who arranged to buy heroin from him in the name of a client. On clarifying the deal, the undercover agent arrested Stefko and transported him to the Cheatham County Jail for further investigation.
In Tennessee, cases of fentanyl overdose have been unfolding faster than police can handle with limited resources.
According to a recent report detailing the opioid crisis in Tennessee, the number of people who died from drug overdoses rose by 12 percent since 2015. This is a large figure that cannot be ignored at any cost.
Drug overdose cases that occurred in 2016 totaled more than 1,600, a number that rose from 1,400 in 2015, according to another report.
From the same data, the totals clearly show that the deaths caused by fentanyl and synthetic opioids rose from 169 to 294 in the same period.
Fentanyl is markedly deadlier than lots of other referred drugs like heroin or cocaine. According to statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is regarded to be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
The main problem posed by fentanyl is the fact that it is similar to heroin, thus making it difficult for average users to differentiate them. As a result, users unknowingly consume fentanyl in large quantities, which leads to overdose and possibly death.
The potency possessed by fentanyl comes from its basic chemical structure, containing a synthetic opioid that yields destructive effects on the human body.
It was first used by doctors to relieve pain in small quantities but drug dealers have since taken advantage of its chemical potency to sell it to heroin users.
Tennessee and other states have seen a great rise in the abuse of stronger drugs like heroin, cocaine and fentanyl.
According to the law, which aims to control drug trade as much as possible, it is a second-degree murder offense to sell drugs to someone who later dies from an overdose.
Cheatham County District Attorney Ray Crouch has publically acknowledged that there is an increasing number of fatal overdoses tied to the usage of fentanyl in the area.
He also stated the area is likely to see an increase in the number of fatal overdoses if the problem is not soon put under control.
The state and federal government are heavily investing in efforts to prevent the sale of deadly synthetic opioids while also rehabilitating the ones affected by the drugs.
As long as the public remains oblivious of the reality, more deaths relating to drug overdose will continue increase with time.
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