Washington County DA warns of rise in deadly drugs

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

There have been eight to 10 suspected drug overdoses in Washington County in the past three weeks, including two recently in Charleroi, and area residents are being warned about drugs laced with deadly fentanyl circulating in the area.

Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said at a press conference Thursday there have been 33 suspected drug overdose deaths so far this year, up from 20 over the same time period in 2020.

“Our goal in fighting this epidemic is to apprehend and incarcerate the people selling this poison in our county,” Vittone said. “We treat the drug dealers and the user very differently in my office.”

Vittone said there has been a reduction in drug overdose deaths after every major drug bust in the county.

“We have many different programs to help people stay alive. We work hard to identify those selling poison in our county,” he said.

The District Attorney’s Drug Task Force has only one full-time investigator right now, and Vittone has submitted a proposal to the county commissioners to add a second investigator at no additional cost to the taxpayers. 

As he awaits a response, Vittone and members of the Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission are spreading the word that illicit drug users may not be getting what they think they’re buying — and the difference can be deadly.

“This epidemic has changed with time,” he said. “Initially it was powdered heroin, then it was opioid pills. What is happening now is the cocaine being sold in Washington County is fentanyl.”

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