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Last updated on Tuesday, August 23, 2016
(BLOOMINGTON) - It wasn’t heroin or meth that killed two young people who overdosed at a Bloomington apartment Friday evening.
21-year-old Ashley Hughes and her 25-year-old fiance, Parker Curtis, died after snorting a new-to-the-streets drug, an opioid analgesic known as U-47700.
The powdery substance, patented by Upjohn in the 1970s, is a potent pain-killer nearly eight times as strong as morphine. It is made for veterinary use as a tranquilizer and was never intended for human consumption.
Police say the drug can be purchased online and the source is shipped from China.
"We are very concerned about this drug that is not controlled," says Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams.
According to statistics, the drug has been blamed for 50 deaths in the United States since June. Ohio has called for an emergency ban of the substance.
Police found Hughes and Curtis dead after an apparent overdose at Colonial Crest Apartments this past Friday night.
Emergency crews were called to the Apartment 17 portion of the complex at 703 W. Gourley Pike around 5:30 p.m.
The bodies of Curtis and Hughes, formerly of Mitchell, were discovered by Ashley's mother who came to the apartment to check on them.
Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams says officers found drugs and drug paraphernalia inside the apartment.
This was not the first time emergency crews were called to the apartment because of an overdose. Last week the pair overdosed within an hour of each other.
The Monroe County Coroner's Office is assisting Bloomington police with the death investigation.
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