COLUMBUS – The scourge of fentanyl is illustrated in stark and troubling terms by a report from the state that shows the number of overdose deaths in Ohio related to the synthetic opioid has increased nearly 13 times in just two years, driving the number of fatal overdoses to a record high.
There were 13.75 times as many fentanyl-related deaths in the state in 2015 (1,155) as in 2013 (84), according to a report released Thursday by the Ohio Department of Health.
“Ohio was one of the first states to see the rise of fentanyl over the past couple of years, as the opiate epidemic continues to evolve to more powerful drugs,” said Dr. Mark Hurst, medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
The number of fentanyl-related deaths in Ohio increased from 84 in 2013, to 503 in 2014 and rose to 1,155 in 2015, accounting for more than half the record 3,050 drug overdose deaths in Ohio that year, the report concluded.
The number of overdose deaths in Franklin County increased from 196 in 2014 to 279 in 2015, a rate of 17.0 deaths per every 100,000 county residents, lower than the statewide average of 19.2 deaths per capita.
Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of injury-related deaths in Ohio, including car crashes, for the last nine years.
The increase in overdose deaths blamed on fentanyl has come at the same time that the number of prescription opiate overdose deaths have begun to level off.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic narcotic that is estimated to be 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
The vast majority of fentanyl reports by law enforcement in drug seizures result from illegally produced and trafficked fentanyl, not diverted prescription fentanyl, the department report said.