Cincinnati Sees A Record 529 Overdose Deaths
The Cincinnati coroner, Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco, called the 2017 heroin overdose numbers “scary, alarming and discouraging.”
As reported by WLWT 5, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco called the 2017 heroin overdose numbers “scary, alarming and discouraging.”
There were 529 overdose deaths in Hamilton County last year.
Of that number, 373 involved opiates.
The overdose death total topped the year before by well over 100.
Use of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanyl and cocaine were all up.
So was the use of the deadly mix-and-match street cocktail as well as the number of drug-related items and drugs turned in to the narcotics section.
It’s staggering to realize the numbers could have been even worse.
“Obviously, our 529 overdose deaths is a huge number,” said Sammarco. “But there’s no doubt that would have been double or triple if we didn’t have Narcan out there in the hands of all our law enforcement (officers) and first responders.”
Timothy Reagan, of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said “The amount of false heroin or bulk fentanyl that we seized this past year, I don’t have the percentage but it’s through the roof. It’s at least 50 percent.
“Here’s another sobering statistic: Fentanyl overdoses are 10 times what they were just three years ago.
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To learn more about how Cincinnati officials are addressing the opioid crisis, please visit WLWT 5.