PEORIA, Ill. – Community leaders are speaking out about a recent string of overdose deaths in Peoria from a drug that’s being sold as heroin.
The drug is a polysubstance that is hard and gray and is a combination of drugs including fentanyl, xylazine, and benzodiazepines. It’s reportedly responsible for four overdose deaths in Peoria last weekend.
JOLT Harm Reduction Executive Director Chris Schaffner tells 25 News the drug has been around for a few years, but he’s seeing it more often in the past few weeks.
“When we make one drug less accessible, because we’ve disrupted the trafficking and the trade of that, another, more dangerous substance that’s harder to detect, pops up in its place,” Schaffner said.
Schaffner says three to five people are bringing the substance in for testing to JOLT every day. He says the polysubstances are getting more potent and common because of an unregulated drug supply.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood the drug can create some deadly side effects.
“Ordinarily a benzo’s not going to take your life; however, when it’s mixed with a fentanyl or a xylazine, you have that horrible, horrible risk of stopping breathing and your heart stops,” Harwood said.
Harwood says people should have test strips to check for various types of drugs. And he says if one is using, they should make sure they have access to 9-1-1 or Narcan.
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