FIVE THINGS ABOUT TWO DRUG DEATHS

1 WHAT HAPPENED

It was just the latest scene in Pennsylvania’s drug epidemic: empty packets of heroin, a spoon and a syringe half full of the last hit the man would ever inject. But the case had a twist that shocked even the first-responders in West Brandywine: The victim — and another dead, overdosed man in an adjacent room — were both drug counsellors.

2 THE VICTIMS

Their names were not released. Many addiction counsellors are former addicts, but it was unclear if that was the case with the men who died. The counsellors lived and worked at the Freedom Ridge Recovery Lodge, which bills itself as “a special recovery home for men that provides a safe place to live.”

3 THE DRUGS

Two of the heroin plastic bags had a “Superman” symbol on them. Police think the drugs had been laced with fentanyl, which can make a hit of heroin more potent and deadly.

4 PENNSYLVANIA’S CRISIS

Authorities chronicling the rise in heroin deaths in Pennsylvania largely attribute the uptick to fentanyl. According to the Harrisburg Patriot News, fentanyl-laced heroin contributed to Pennsylvania having the sixth-highest overdose rate in the nation in 2015. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems the state “statistically higher” than the national average. Pennsylvania coroners reported more than 3,500 overdose deaths, a 30-per-cent jump from 2014.

5 THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE

“If anybody is wondering how bad the opioid epidemic has become, this case is a frightening example,” Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said. “The staff members in charge of supervising recovering addicts succumbed to their own addiction and died of opioid overdoses. Opioids are a monster that is slowly consuming our population.”