Gene Troyan of Butler Ambulance Service demonstrates the protective gear first responders must wear when going on overdose calls

The rash of overdoses in Butler County can be attributed to the increased use of fentanyl.

Of the 44 confirmed fatal overdoses in the county this year, 36 toxicology reports showed fentanyl in the user's system — with no trace of heroin.

Fentanyl, an opiate that is 100 times more potent than heroin, has risen in popularity in the county in the past two years.

Gene Troyan, the director of operations of Butler Ambulance Service, said the rise in both fatal and nonfatal overdoses in Butler County — which he averaged at one per day since the start of 2016 — coincides with the popularity of fentanyl.

“The increase (in overdoses) is because of the potency of the drugs that are mixed with heroin,” Troyan said. “The fentanyl, the carfentanil, are so strong that the users are finding out that their body can't tolerate that, because it does shut down their respiratory drive.”

He said that there is no way for opiate users to know how much fentanyl is mixed in with heroin that is being purchased.

There were 74 fatal overdoses in the county in 2016, and as of Thursday, there had been 44 this year. Butler County Drug Task Force coordinator Tim Fennell said there are potentially several more, pending toxicology reports.

He said that opiate users are not specifically seeking out fentanyl, but are buying what's available to support their addiction.

“They don't have a choice,” Fennell said. “They got to buy what's out there.”

Fentanyl's prevalence, according to Fennell, is because it is more profitable for drug traffickers than heroin. He said it is manufactured in laboratories in China, and when it comes to the U.S. the price per kilogram is about $2,000.

Fennell said traffickers can make as much as $1 million from a kilogram of fentanyl.

“It's just a matter of money,” he said.

A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.