Fatal fentanyl overdoses double in Delaware this year
Fatal fentanyl overdoses have more than doubled in Delaware this year, with 90 people dying of the synthetic, highly addictive painkiller in nine months, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services.
Officials with the state say an increasingly higher percentage of the overdoses from January through September occurred in Kent and Sussex counties, as compared to New Castle County, where fatal drug overdoses used to be more common.
Fifty percent of the deaths or 45 people died from drug overdoses in New Castle County this year, according to the state. About 33 percent of overdoses or 30 people died in Sussex County and another 17 percent of fatalities or 15 people died in Kent County through Sept. 25. The state has not released overdose numbers through December.
“The dramatic increase in overdose deaths related to fentanyl is heartbreaking,” said Rita Landgraf, secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, in a statement. “We urge people to seek treatment for addiction rather than face an increasing risk of death from an overdose of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine or some combination of drugs. One use of any drug can be deadly, but with fentanyl, the risk too often is tragically greater."
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In the latest overdose numbers between June 3 and Sept. 25, 80 percent of fatalities were men ranging in age from 21 to 61. More than half were men in the 30s and 40s, which is an uptick from the traditional overdose age of 20s to 30s, according to the state.
In the past, fentanyl was primarily used in conjunction with heroin, where the white powder form would be mixed into powder heroin, but that strategy has changed among drug dealers, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
Now, fentanyl is sold in white powder form, giving it the appearance of heroin. Dealers also use fentanyl to lace heroin and cocaine, as well as press the powder into pills and sell them as OxyContin. The painkiller is considered 50 times more potent than heroin and was often used to treat terminally ill cancer patients.
“We encourage anyone who is using or with an addiction issue to call for help or to ask a police officer, a medical professional or another first responder for help,” said Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS) Secretary James Mosley in a statement. “The fentanyl on our streets is so toxic that it greatly decreases the chance of survival.”
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The state Division of Forensic Science determined that 17 of the 42 overdoses since May involved heroin and another 16 of the 42 cases involved cocaine, as well.
The drug affects the central nervous system and brain, often causing users to have trouble breathing or stop breathing completely. In the first six months of the year, paramedics and police officers used naloxone – the overdose-reversing drug – 1,070 times in suspected overdose situations, according to the state.
“Sadly, the Delaware Valley has long suffered from episodes of overdoses due to use of heroin and prescription opiates, but never at the rate we see occurring now,” said Jeremiah Daley, director of the Philadelphia-Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which includes New Castle County. “While it is dangerous to consume any opioid without medical necessity and supervision, the introduction of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues or other synthetic opioids into the illegal drug marketplace greatly increases the risk of an overdose episode and death."
Do you or someone you know need help?
Call the state's 24/7 Crisis Services Helpline:
New Castle County: 1-800-652-2929
Kent and Sussex counties: 1-800-345-6785
Visit HelpIsHereDE.com
Call 911 – the 911/Good Samaritan Law protects those who call 911 to report an overdose from being prosecured for low-level drug crimes.
Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.