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Tag: overdose wave

  • 10 Dead In 26 Hours From Overdose In Ohio, Fentanyl Suspected

    10 Dead In 26 Hours From Overdose In Ohio, Fentanyl Suspected

    Ohio has experienced multiple mass overdose cases in past few months, with six dead in a single day in August and nine people dead in 48 hours in July.

    At least 10 people died of drug overdoses in a period of 26 hours in Ohio, according to medical officials. This high number within a short time frame has the Franklin County Coroner’s Office suspecting the involvement of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and is often mixed with other drugs to make them more powerful.

    “As of about 10 a.m. this morning we have had 10 people die of overdoses in about 26 hours. This is an unusually high number for our county in this period of time,” the coroner’s office said in a statement. “At this time we know fentanyl can be mixed into cocaine and methamphetamine. These can be deadly combinations for those who are using.”

    According to ABC News, Ohio has been hit particularly hard by the national opioid epidemic. They have experienced multiple mass overdose cases in past few months, with six dead in a single day in August and nine people dead in 48 hours in July.

    The statement about this latest rash of overdose deaths was posted on Facebook by Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz. The coroner urged those with loved ones who use illicit drugs to carry naloxone, the medication that blocks opioid receptors in the brain and reverses an overdose. She also encouraged those who use risky drugs to take advantage of fentanyl testing strips.

    Fentanyl-Related Overdose Deaths Rise

    Batches of drugs tainted with fentanyl are considered to be largely responsible for the alarming increases in overdose deaths in recent years. Thankfully, many areas are seeing these numbers level off from 2017 to 2018, likely due to widespread efforts to make naloxone available to the public and educate people on how to administer the lifesaving drug.

    Funding for these efforts has also increased substantially in the past couple of years.

    Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that it will be allocating a new wave of funding to fight the opioid crisis, with senior officials saying that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be getting an extra $1.8 billion for that purpose.

    First Drop In Overdose Deaths Announced

    “Our country is seeing the first drop in overdose deaths in more than two decades, more Americans are getting treatment for addiction, and lives are being saved,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “At the same time, we are still far from declaring victory. We will continue executing on the Department’s 5-Point strategy for combating the opioid crisis, and laying the foundation for a healthcare system where every American can access the mental healthcare they need.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Ohio County Overdose Wave Leaves At Least 3 Dead

    Ohio County Overdose Wave Leaves At Least 3 Dead

    Officials were alarmed when 23 emergency calls involving suspected overdose cases were received in the county in under 24 hours.

    Police officers in Hamilton County reported an unusual spike in overdose cases last weekend that was likely due to a batch of methamphetamine mixed with fentanyl that was sold as ecstasy pills.

    As many as 10 of the overdose cases resulted in death, though the coroner’s office has yet to confirm if overdose was the root cause in all the area deaths that occurred since June 19.

    Regardless, officials were alarmed when 23 emergency calls involving suspected overdose cases were received in the county in under 24 hours. Overall, they fielded 54 calls from early Friday to early Monday.

    On Saturday, the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition sent out an alert to the local populace due to the high number of overdoses. Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan, a co-chair of the Heroin Coalition, believes that the root cause is the highly potent opioid fentanyl.

    “Late in May, Tom Fallon, investigative commander for the heroin task force, said investigators learned that a drug supplier was mixing fentanyl with meth and then adding red, yellow or blue food coloring and pressing the mixture into a pill form to be sold as ecstasy,” reports The Cincinnati Enquirer. “The task force has also found other fake pressed-pills sold on the street as pain pills in recent months that were tainted with fentanyl.”

    Fallon also noted that there’s been a similar problem with crack cocaine being mixed with fentanyl. This has been an increasing issue across the country as drug sellers learn that adding small amounts of the opioid to a batch of drugs can seriously enhance the effects.

    However, since fentanyl is up to 100 times more potent than morphine, just a tiny bit too much can result in a dangerous overdose. Mixing drugs also always increases that risk.

    This problem has led experts to name fentanyl as the key driver in a “third wave” of the U.S. opioid epidemic. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that deaths involving the drug have doubled every year since 2013.

    Ohio has seen a surge in these kinds of overdoses since April, particularly on the weekends. Because individuals who are addicted to opioids generally can’t wait until the weekend, this tells authorities like Synan that many of the victims are not addicted to this type of drug.

    In fact, those who have not built up a tolerance to opioids are especially vulnerable to fatal overdose if they take fentanyl, which is why fentanyl is only prescribed to individuals who are already opioid-tolerant.

    View the original article at thefix.com