A mix of drugs known as "gray death" has been popping up across the south.
CBS News reports it looks like chunks of concrete, and detectives are warning people it's so dangerous -- they shouldn't even handle it with bare hands.
According to the report, the sheriff's office in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana has already made several arrests.
"Gray death" has also turned up in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. While officers in Tampa Bay are aware of the potentially deadly mix, they haven't seen a spike in those cases here.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office reported the following numbers of overdose deaths to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2018:
Fentanyl – 123
Fentanyl with other drugs – 7
Heroin – 108
Heroin with other drugs – 6
The Medical Examiner does not break down the number of deaths from "gray death" specifically, and it will take months before the 2019 overdose numbers are available.
"Gray Death" is a combination of several opioid drugs. In addition to heroin, it may also contain fentanyl, carfentanil – which is sometimes used to tranquilize large animals like elephants – and a synthetic opioid called U-47700.
According to USA Today, users inject, swallow, smoke or snort it.
What other people are reading right now:
- Florida Highway Patrol trooper shot and killed on I-95
- President Trump to give impeachment acquittal speech Thursday
- Did Speaker Nancy Pelosi break the law when ripping State of the Union speech?
- VERIFY: Fact-checking President Trump's third State of the Union address
- Florida severe weather outlook: Strong winds, a tornado possible
- Bright meteor caught on doorbell camera plummeting to Earth
- FBI joins search for missing Florida baby after triple murder
