Anniston police investigating several likely fentanyl overdoses

ANNISTON, Ala. (WBRC) - The Anniston Police Department is investigating several overdoses, believed to be from fentanyl-laced cocaine.

The department received seven overdose calls in just 24 hours. One person died and another remains in the hospital as of Friday.

It all started in Anniston Thursday night with two overdose calls. Police Chief Nick Bowles says it wasn’t overly irregular until Friday, when five more overdose calls came into police; three of them at the same time.

Chief Bowles says all of the overdoses are believed to come from a deadly batch of cocaine cut with fentanyl. He says the drug-users were taking what they thought to be cocaine and they are getting knocked out with something even stronger.

The chief says Narcan was used to reverse the overdose completely in one person Friday, but it doesn’t always work.

“Narcan’s not a fail-safe,” said Chief Bowles. “Some of these people, they keep Narcan with them for themselves and their buddies. I mean, that’s how dangerous some of this stuff is. The key would be if you don’t want to overdose, don’t do it.”

Prior to this spike, the chief said overdose numbers were down the past few years. Of course, he hopes the numbers drop down again.

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