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Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier says an extremely potent type of heroin that causes overdoses is the next big drug threat to Washington, D.C.

During a Kojo In Your Community event, Lanier answered a question about “semi-legal” drug use in the community. “I’ve seen over the past couple of years a number of varied drugs, like we have a lot of people using PCP, K2, Molly, that kind of thing,” Mel, a nurse, said.

Lanier first addressed K2 spice, which she said is extremely hard to regulate. “But we talk about PCP. That’s an extremely dangerous drug,” she continued. “And we did see a spike in PCP in 2008, 2009. We were able to work aggressively to go after PCP. This is not a, you know, a very addictive drug but it’s a very dangerous drug. So we work with our partners in the hospital associations and work with our partners in the community. And we try to increase treatment, and then conditions of release for people who were testing positive for PCP. Because you have to have some leverage to try and encourage people off of those drugs.

“But there are new challenges. That heroin that’s been traveling all around the country and causing overdoses because of its potency, has reached Washington, D.C. now. So heroin, now extremely potent, causing a lot of overdoses, is traveling around the country, that’s going to be our next big threat.”

Areas around the country are grappling with painkiller-laced heroin, which has been linked to 37 deaths in Maryland.

Lanier also addressed the Council’s recent passing of a marijuana decriminalization bill, saying “not only in this city but across America, very, very few people have spent time in jail for small or medium quantities of marijuana in a very, very long time.”

“I don’t think it’s going to have a huge impact on the city,” she added. “I don’t think it’s going to have a huge impact on crime.”