Fentanyl Overdoses Spike Nearly 50 Percent Across Maryland

Steve Birr
The Daily Caller
Jul. 26, 2018

Drug overdose deaths continued to increase across Maryland last year, driven by an influx of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which are increasingly being cut into non-opioid substances like cocaine.

Data the Maryland Department of Health released Thursday shows the number of fatal overdoses in the state hit a record high in 2017, killing 2,282 people. Roughly 90 percent of all drug overdose deaths were caused by opioids, predominantly fentanyl, which is roughly 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, reports the Baltimore Business Journal.

Fentanyl deaths rose by 42 percent in 2017, killing 1,594. The increases occurred despite an overall drop in deaths linked to heroin, which accounted for more than 50 percent of all overdose deaths in 2016.

Officials are particularly concerned with sharp increases in cocaine-related deaths since 2015, fueled by fentanyl seeping into non-opioid drug supplies. Fentanyl was involved in roughly 71 percent of all cocaine fatalities in 2017.

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