COLUMBUS – A new silent killer, addictive and lethal, is stalking Ohioans and killing them in massive numbers.
Fentanyl¸a synthetic, highly addictive opiate 50 times more potent than heroin, was involved in 502 fatal overdoses last year, pushing Ohio drug deaths to 2,482, a staggering 17.6 percent jump over 2013, the Ohio Department of Health reported Thursday.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
It was another record year for death in a state that has lost more than 12,000 people to overdoses since 2002, and seen its death rate nearly quadruple (see graph).
Known by the street names of China white, dance fever, friend, goodfella, jackpot and murder 8, fentanyl killed five times as many people last year as in 2013, the health department report showed. It is often mixed with heroin and other drugs, usually without the user’s knowledge.
The new report, released seven months earlier than in the past to help provide early feedback for government officials and treatment agencies, was a setback for a state working for five years to break the chain of drug addiction deaths.
“At the same time we are experiencing positive progress in our fight against drug addiction,” said Mark Hurst, medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. “We are also seeing some individuals begin to use more dangerous drugs to achieve more intense effects.”
Last year’s overdose deaths included a record 1,177 related to heroin, up from 986 in 2013.
Fatal drug overdoses remain the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio, above car crashes, a trend that began in 2007.
Various authorities will be collecting unwanted, unneeded or expired prescription and over-the-counter pills, patches, vitamins and pet medications on Saturday, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Columbus Public Health, Mt. Carmel, Cardinal Health, the Columbus Division of Police and SWACO will collect unwanted drugs from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Columbus Public Health, 240 Parsons Avenue.