RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The drug fentanyl caused more deaths in Virginia last year than any other prescription painkiller.
The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that the number of deaths caused by fentanyl rose from 48 in 2007 to 134 in 2014. Last year, the death was linked to an estimated 221 deaths in the state.
That's more than any other opioid besides heroin.
Fentanyl is prescribed by doctors and comes in a patch that's placed on the skin. Addicts have learned to isolate the drug from the patch and snort or inject the drug.
But officials say the spike in fentanyl deaths is largely due to the illegally produced version being smuggled into the U.S. from labs in Mexico and South America.
