‘Black Tar’ Heroin Suspected Cause of 3 S.F. Drug Deaths

A potent batch of “black tar” heroin--a thick, dark, congealed form of the drug--may have caused a spate of overdoses and at least three deaths in San Francisco this weekend, a doctor at San Francisco General Hospital said.

The exact cause of the deaths of three unidentified victims is being investigated by the coroner’s office, Dr. Larry Stinnett said in a telephone interview. But he added that “the situations in which most of these incidents were reported indicate that the victims were heroin users.”

Stinnett said about 50 overdose patients, many coming from the Tenderloin district--a downtown area to which police attribute a high incidence of drug use and sales--had been treated since Friday.

“Either they were picked up in houses and areas that are known for intravenous drug use or friends and relatives called to say that the victims just shot up,” Stinnett said. “In all of the cases they were found with tracks (multiple scars resulting from needle injections) or fresh puncture marks.”

Potent Heroin Possibly From Mexico

The reports of the apparent heroin overdoses began coming into San Francisco General last Friday, said Stinnett, who has worked in the hospital’s emergency room for five years. In the past, on an average day, one case might be reported, he said.

“The patients all say that it was black tar,” Stinnett said. “It appears to be the same shipment of high potency heroin. . . . I believe that this shipment is from Mexico.”

The number of reported overdoses appeared to be tailing off, the physician said. Three cases were reported on Sunday.

In general the “black tar” form of the drug may vary in potency from 40% to 80% heroin, authorities said. Stinnett said the batch of heroin responsible for the overdoses may be at the 80% grade or higher.

“The patients shoot up, and all have almost immediately realized that they have gotten ahold of some potent stuff,” Stinnett said. “They quickly lose consciousness and their breathing becomes very shallow. In some cases they stop breathing altogether.”

Medical and law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles said there has not been a reported recent rise in heroin related overdoses in the area.