New Drug ‘Gray Death’ Hits Missoula Streets, May Pose Risk to First Responders
Missoula County prosecutors handled nineteen felony cases over the past week, according to County Attorney Kirsten Pabst, and a large number of those cases involved assault.
"Seven of those were violent crimes; three involved Partner or Family Member Assault, there was an Assault on a Minor, There were two Aggravated Assaults and an Assault with a weapon... in this case, a vodka bottle."
A rape case went to court, as did a number of drug crimes including a type of drug thought to be new to Missoula.
"There were six property crimes, including three Thefts, a Trespass, and Criminal Mischief, and then an Embezzlement case from a local restaurant," Pabst said. "We had four drug cases: two of them were methamphetamine, but two involved another category: a particular substance alleged to be what they call on the street 'gray death,' which is a mixture of heroine and other materials like fenanyl."
Other communities have sounded alarm over Gray Death, which can be particularly lethal. Not only can the drug lead to overdose death in those that use it, some varieties can be absorbed through the skin posing risk to the first responders who come to help. The name gray death is a fairly accurate description as it often looks like a chunk of cement.