MONTICELLO — During his presentation to the Legislature on Thursday, September 4, County Coroner Albee Bockman reported that a new plan for the modernized morgue had cut initial cost estimates by almost half. 

“The plan is going to be submitted to the budget office and to our manager,” Bockman said. “We hope that the approval will be expeditiously taken care of so we can move forward.” 

Bockman explained that the morgue currently has six refrigerators that are old and often fall into disrepair. When initial cost estimates came in at $150,000 for a modern ten-cadaver walk-in unit, Bockman said he and the hospital engineering department met to find an alternative solution; the new plan employs the use of mobile refrigeration units that each hold between three and nine bodies. He said the units are available for purchase and the engineering team at the hospital said it could provide the infrastructure to make the portable units work at a cost totaling around $75,000.

Bockman also reiterated a concern he has shared with the legislature before, about the planned departure of Primary Forensic Pathologist Dr. Kunjlata Ashar.

“There is still no confirmation on the new pathologist yet; Dr. Ashar’s departure in December is rapidly approaching and we’re getting quite concerned,” he said. 

Bockman then shifted gears and shared information sourced from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA): “This past July, the United States Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale of what is known as “hydroxymitragynine”- it’s a compound found in some Kratom products, which has now been designated as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.” He said Kratom is a powder made from a leaf used in drinks, tablets, and gummies, and is available online, in smoke shops, and in gas stations. Bockman said, “It’s a mood booster, a pain reliever, and remedy for quitting opiates, but it doesn’t mean that the products are naturally safe, so they are now banning it; the State of Florida is the first state to ban it, and it’s going to be nationwide shortly.”

Bockman warned of a new potent drug entering the United States: “something known as Nitazenes; it is a synthetic opiate being produced by the drug cartels.” He said the DEA has informed his office that this opiate derivative is 43 times stronger than fentanyl, 4,300 times stronger than morphine, and responsible for over 2,000 deaths reported nationwide over the past several years. Bockman continued, “The problem facing us is that their chemical structure is different from the common opiates, like heroin and fentanyl, and may not be detected by drug screenings. And that messes up our overdose management, coroner and medical examiner diagnosis, and accurate cause of death reporting.” 

Bockman finished his report: “As grim as that sounded, we had a very positive month in our county. We had only 10 deaths this past month, and three autopsies took place, and one overdose death. Two [autopsies] are still pending, we have to wait for the toxicology given the pathologist was unable to make a determination during autopsy.” Bockman said most of the deaths he deals with are the result of natural causes, but that he is continually frustrated by an unrelenting 10-15% of deaths in the county attributed to drug overdose every month. “The cartels are always one step ahead of us,” Bockman concluded.