Ohio News |

Cuyahoga County seeing near-record number of overdose deaths

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 100,300 people died of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. between May 2020 and April 2021 — the first time the country has breached 100,000 overdose deaths over a 12-month period.

The federal agency is projecting that the U.S. will see more than 100,000 deaths in the 2021 calendar year. There were a record 93,000 overdose deaths in 2020, according to the CDC.

Cuyahoga County too is on pace to see a near-record level of overdose deaths in 2021.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office’s data through October (the most recent available data) projects the county to see 720 total overdose deaths this year. That figure is only seven fewer than the record total set in 2017.

The office is projecting that fentanyl will be involved in a record-number of overdose deaths in the county this year. Projections through October estimate the county will see 497 total deaths involving fentanyl. That would be slightly more than the record of 493 set in 2017.

Where Cuyahoga County is seeing the largest jump in overdose deaths is those involving cocaine. The county is on pace to have 409 cocaine-related overdose deaths this year. That would shatter the previous record by more than 100 cases.

In the previous five years, the county averaged 251.2 cocaine-related overdose deaths. In the 10 years prior to that, the county averaged 113.2 cocaine-related overdose deaths.

The county saw a surge in 2016 when cocaine-related overdose deaths (263) more than doubled from the previous year (115). It was in 2016 that Cuyahoga County began seeing a significant increase in the number of overdose deaths involving a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl.

There were 161 deaths involving a combination of those two drugs that year. In 2015, there were 24. In 2014, there were 12.

From 2016 to 2020, the county averaged 157.2 overdose deaths per year involving a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine, with a high of 190 in 2017. Through October, Cuyahoga County has already shattered that record with 244 deaths being reported this year.

The Medical Examiner’s Office is also projecting heroin deaths to increase for the first time since they peaked in 2016. After reaching 324 deaths, that figure fell each of the next four years, down all the way to 51 in 2020. That was the first time Cuyahoga County had fewer than 100 heroin deaths in a year since 2010 and it was the lowest number of heroin deaths since 2007 when there were 40.

Through October, the county is on pace to see 110 heroin-related deaths this year.

Of those who died of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the county through October, a record 29.27 percent are Black. Last year, 25 percent of fentanyl overdose victims were Black. In 2019, that figure was 27.8 percent. In 2016, 14.5 percent of fentanyl overdose victims were Black.

November has not brought a reprieve to Cuyahoga County’s rising overdose death tally. The Medical Examiner issued a public health alert Nov. 8 after the county suffered 12 suspected overdose deaths over a two-day period.

“It remains to be seen what the cause is, but the public should be aware that there is a serious threat to their lives if they are using street drugs right now in Cuyahoga County,” Gilson said.

Shannon Monnat, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University, told the Associated Press there is no current evidence that more Americans started using drugs that year. The increased deaths were from those already struggling with addiction. What’s driving the surge of overdose deaths is an “increasingly poisoned drug supply.”

“Nearly all of this increase is fentanyl contamination in some way,” Monnat told the AP. “Heroin is contaminated. Cocaine is contaminated. Methamphetamine is contaminated.”

One tool available in an effort to curb overdose deaths is fentanyl test strips. These rapid test strips are used to determine if drugs have been mixed or cut with fentanyl. The CDC stated these strips provide people who use drugs, as well as communities, with “important information about fentanyl in the illicit drug supply so they can take steps to reduce their risk of overdose.”

Fentanyl test strips are available for free at multiple locations in Cuyahoga County, but are predominantly found in Cleveland. In the east side suburbs, the strips can be found at Labarberia Institute of Hair, 1633 Golden Gate Plaza in Mayfield Heights.

A full list of locations can be found at www.testyourdrugscc.com.