October 25th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Nearly 800 overdose deaths in the first half of the year linked to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl helped pushed the number of overdose deaths in Maryland to a new high. New state data released Tuesday shows that while the number of deaths from heroin and opioids generally moderated a bit, fentanyl-related fatalities jumped 70 percent over the same six-month period last year. Authorities have struggled to respond to the increasing presence of the cheap drug, which is often mixed with heroin and unrecognizable to users who are unaccustomed to its potency. Governor Larry Hogan created the command center earlier this year to coordinate the state’s response to the growing opioid crisis- however he points out that the numbers seems to keep moving in the wrong direction…