Fentanyl laced heroin has been the cause of death in more than 50 heroin overdose cases. When it was discovered that Philip Seymour Hoffman had died of a heroin overdose, investigators began to wonder if he could have been the latest victim of fentanyl. Hoffman was found dead in his apartment with several empty glassine envelopes near his body.

According to the New York Post,

“The drug envelopes were marked “Ace of Spades,” which sources said is a brand of heroin that has not been seen on city streets since around 2008 in Brooklyn. … Police later executed a search warrant and found 70 glassine envelopes of heroin inside a desk. In addition to the “Ace of Spades,” investigators also found packages marked “Ace of Hearts” and one with a playing-card jack stamped on it.”

There have been 17 overdoses in Pennsylvania and 37 in Maryland that are linked to the fentanyl laced heroin. Fentanyl is an opiate that is used as a pain killer in hospitals. Drug dealers and users will add fentanyl to heroin to make it stronger. It can make heroin so strong that users accidentally overdose.

Investigators were not able to find any traces of fentanyl when they search Hoffman’s apartment and the heroin bags that were found were not labeled as a familiar type of heroin.

An autopsy of Hoffman’s body is scheduled to be done on Monday and it should show his cause of death and if their was any fentanyl in his body at the time of death.

Police are currently looking for the fentanyl laced heroin drug dealer responsible for the deaths and are hoping to better understand what exactly makes the mixture of fentanyl and heroin so deadly.

Do you think the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman could have been caused by a fentanyl laced heroin overdose?

Image via Wikimedia Commons.