Sad! Drug counselors overdose, die at Pennsylvania addiction facility

Two Pennsylvania drug counselors overdosed and died from a combination of heroin and fentanyl while working at a halfway house for those facing addiction.
The two people, who weren't identified by local authorities, were found dead Sunday in their bedrooms at the Freedom Ridge Recovery Lodge outside Philadelphia, according to the District Attorney's Office of Chester County.

The counselors organized daily activities for six men who stayed at Freedom Recovery. The duties also involved monitoring the residents' medications.

First responders arrived about 2 p.m. after residents found them unresponsive. They tried to revive one of the counselors with a nose injection of naloxone.
Authorities found used needles and bags of heroin near both bodies. The bags had Superman and "Danger/Skull & Crossbones" logos. Both tested positive for heroin and fentanyl.

District Attorney Tom Hogan warned to stay away from bags with either logo.

"They appear to be heroin laced with fentanyl and are likely to kill anybody who uses them," he said. "We will not even let law enforcement handle them without special precautions because of the extreme danger of death or injury."

The United States has experienced a dramatic uptick in overdose deaths, which have more than doubled since 1999. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows the fatalities tend to affect middle-aged adults and white people the most. Heroin is the lead cause of overdose deaths, accounting for a quarter of such fatalities in the U.S.

Hogan said Sunday's deaths provide more evidence of the severity of the nation's drug problem.

"If anybody is wondering how bad the opioid epidemic has become, this case is a frightening example," he said. "The staff members in charge of supervising recovering addicts succumbed to their own addiction and died of opioid overdose. Opioids are a monster that is slowly consuming our population."

USA Today