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Death By Patch?
(IRN)--Drug technology is getting ahead of existing state law in at least one case. An Illinois House committee has approved a bill that would account for that. The bill would make it a crime to induce a fatal drug overdose by a patch.

Right now, the law does not cover drugs absorbed through the skin; rather, drug-induced homicides cover only inhalation, ingestion, and injection.

State Police Master Sgt. John Biffany of Rockford commands a narcotics task force and has handled a few investigations already in which a fentanyl patch is applied to a victim.

The patch is supposed to transmit the powerful pain-killer into the body on a time-released basis. But when the patch is cut, the drug is more potent. Biffany says some addicts simply snip a piece off the patch and suck it to get the drugs into their systems more quickly.

S.B. 21 has passed the House Judiciary II (Criminal Law) Committee.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
02 20 11 by Newsroom
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