Fatal drug overdoses surge statewide, locally
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
June 28, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/fatal-drug-overdoses-surge-statewide-locally/article_be7ff0d7-1b0c-529a-80d0-da212007f8f1.html
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
June 28, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/fatal-drug-overdoses-surge-statewide-locally/article_be7ff0d7-1b0c-529a-80d0-da212007f8f1.html
Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky soared to unprecedented levels last year, jumping 7.4 percent as the state continues to struggle with the scourge of prescription pills and the rise of a much more potent form of heroin.
A report released Tuesday by the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy shows there were 1,404 fatal overdoses statewide in 2016, compared to 1,330 deaths the previous year. The report points to heroin and fentanyl as major contributors to the rise in deaths with 456 overdose deaths involving heroin and 623 involving fentanyl.
The highest number of fatalities occurred in Louisville, Lexington and northern Kentucky, but fatalities were recorded in nearly all counties across the state.
Locally, according to the data, McCracken County saw nearly twice as many fatal overdoses in 2016 with 19 last year, up from 10 the year before.
Most other counties in the region were also affected. Calloway and Marshall counties each recorded five overdose deaths in 2016, while Ballard, Caldwell, Carlisle, Graves, Hickman, Livingston and Trigg counties each saw fewer than five. Fulton and Lyon counties were the only ones in the region that had no overdose deaths last year.
Though heroin and fentanyl played a dominant role in fatal overdoses across the state, that was not the case locally.
McCracken County Coroner Dan Sims said a majority of the local deaths were the result of prescription pills or a mixture of prescription medications and/or alcohol. Sims also said McCracken County numbers tend to be inflated due to people being brought in from surrounding communities for treatment at one of the local hospitals.
But that doesn't mean heroin and fentanyl are not a local problem, McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden said.
"It's not reached epidemic levels here locally, but it would appear that those drugs are more readily available here than they were three or even two years ago," he said. "They're gaining in popularity for some reason, and it's almost like playing Russian roulette every time you use them."
Hayden said the first real case the sheriff's department worked involving fatal fentanyl overdoses was around 2008.
"We received a call and discovered two dead bodies — two men — in a residence on Simon Road. There was no trauma to the bodies, and initially we were kind of at a loss as to what caused their deaths," he said.
While investigating, Hayden said they found what appeared to be "small plastic baggies" in the men's mouths.
"We later were able to determined that they were pieces of fentanyl patches — they had cut them up and they were chewing on them — and it killed both these men. Those were the first fentanyl deaths that I can remember."
Since then, Hayden said there have been sporadic incidents of fentanyl abuse and fentanyl trafficking, "but not anything that's been consistent." That's also been true for heroin, he said.
Within the city limits, Paducah Detective Ryan Conn said 158 overdoses patients were brought into Lourdes hospital last year alone. Not all of those cases resulted in fatalities, he said, but approximately 20 of them involved heroin.
"It's definitely here, it's definitely in the community, but we've had no concretely confirmed overdose deaths due to fentanyl or heroin within the city limits," he said.
The number of overdoses treated at Baptist Health Paducah is not yet available, he said.
The most common types of drugs reportedly used in these overdose cases, he said, were benzodiazepines — primarily prescribed to treat anxiety disorders -- such as Klonopin, Xanax or Diazepam, which can be deadly when mixed with alcohol or other types of drugs.
He said the second most common cause was synthetic drugs — most notably synthetic marijuana. Third on the list were amphetamines, "and that doesn't mean just meth, that could mean amphetamine-based medications or pseudoephedrine as well."
Heroin, fentanyl and other opioids such as morphine or Lortab were fourth on the list, Conn said, followed by cocaine-based drugs and barbiturates.
With heroin and fentanyl slowly gaining ground in the western Kentucky region, Hayden said it is important that the law enforcement, legislative and legal communities take a "zero tolerance" position on the trafficking and importing of these drugs.
"It's so important whenever we get a lead on possible fentanyl or heroin trafficking that we give it our full attention and run down those leads as quickly as we can," he said. "We don't want those drugs to take root here because the results would be devastating."
A report released Tuesday by the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy shows there were 1,404 fatal overdoses statewide in 2016, compared to 1,330 deaths the previous year. The report points to heroin and fentanyl as major contributors to the rise in deaths with 456 overdose deaths involving heroin and 623 involving fentanyl.
The highest number of fatalities occurred in Louisville, Lexington and northern Kentucky, but fatalities were recorded in nearly all counties across the state.
Locally, according to the data, McCracken County saw nearly twice as many fatal overdoses in 2016 with 19 last year, up from 10 the year before.
Most other counties in the region were also affected. Calloway and Marshall counties each recorded five overdose deaths in 2016, while Ballard, Caldwell, Carlisle, Graves, Hickman, Livingston and Trigg counties each saw fewer than five. Fulton and Lyon counties were the only ones in the region that had no overdose deaths last year.
Though heroin and fentanyl played a dominant role in fatal overdoses across the state, that was not the case locally.
McCracken County Coroner Dan Sims said a majority of the local deaths were the result of prescription pills or a mixture of prescription medications and/or alcohol. Sims also said McCracken County numbers tend to be inflated due to people being brought in from surrounding communities for treatment at one of the local hospitals.
But that doesn't mean heroin and fentanyl are not a local problem, McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden said.
"It's not reached epidemic levels here locally, but it would appear that those drugs are more readily available here than they were three or even two years ago," he said. "They're gaining in popularity for some reason, and it's almost like playing Russian roulette every time you use them."
Hayden said the first real case the sheriff's department worked involving fatal fentanyl overdoses was around 2008.
"We received a call and discovered two dead bodies — two men — in a residence on Simon Road. There was no trauma to the bodies, and initially we were kind of at a loss as to what caused their deaths," he said.
While investigating, Hayden said they found what appeared to be "small plastic baggies" in the men's mouths.
"We later were able to determined that they were pieces of fentanyl patches — they had cut them up and they were chewing on them — and it killed both these men. Those were the first fentanyl deaths that I can remember."
Since then, Hayden said there have been sporadic incidents of fentanyl abuse and fentanyl trafficking, "but not anything that's been consistent." That's also been true for heroin, he said.
Within the city limits, Paducah Detective Ryan Conn said 158 overdoses patients were brought into Lourdes hospital last year alone. Not all of those cases resulted in fatalities, he said, but approximately 20 of them involved heroin.
"It's definitely here, it's definitely in the community, but we've had no concretely confirmed overdose deaths due to fentanyl or heroin within the city limits," he said.
The number of overdoses treated at Baptist Health Paducah is not yet available, he said.
The most common types of drugs reportedly used in these overdose cases, he said, were benzodiazepines — primarily prescribed to treat anxiety disorders -- such as Klonopin, Xanax or Diazepam, which can be deadly when mixed with alcohol or other types of drugs.
He said the second most common cause was synthetic drugs — most notably synthetic marijuana. Third on the list were amphetamines, "and that doesn't mean just meth, that could mean amphetamine-based medications or pseudoephedrine as well."
Heroin, fentanyl and other opioids such as morphine or Lortab were fourth on the list, Conn said, followed by cocaine-based drugs and barbiturates.
With heroin and fentanyl slowly gaining ground in the western Kentucky region, Hayden said it is important that the law enforcement, legislative and legal communities take a "zero tolerance" position on the trafficking and importing of these drugs.
"It's so important whenever we get a lead on possible fentanyl or heroin trafficking that we give it our full attention and run down those leads as quickly as we can," he said. "We don't want those drugs to take root here because the results would be devastating."
