CT opioid death data shows ‘it’s an everywhere problem’
By Ed Stannard Updated 2:13 pm EDT, Sunday, May 12, 2019 New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN — The nationwide opioid epidemic has hit hard in Connecticut, where accidental overdoses increased almost 40 percent from 2015 to 2018.
Fentanyl, 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, has become the drug of choice for those addicted to opioids, outstripping heroin and other drugs. In 2018, 760 of the 1,017 opioid-related deaths involved one or more forms of fentanyl. In 2015, only 189 of 729 deaths were fentanyl-related.
Hearst Connecticut Media reviewed the detailed data about the 3,701 opioid-related deaths over four years, from the chief state medical examiner’s office. They paint a picture, in numbers, of a tragedy that is exploding by the year.
The individual cases were analyzed according to the city or town where the deceased lived, not where they died. What they reveal destroys the stereotypes that the opioid scourge is an urban problem or one that primarily afflicts the African-American community.
Read the rest of the story at New Haven Register.