Fentanyl deaths on the rise | News

In a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health, West Virginia University researchers found that fentanyl-related deaths are on the rise in West Virginia, even as deaths related to prescription opioids decline.

By analyzing all drug-related deaths in the state from 2005 to 2017, the research team discovered that between 2015 and 2017, deaths from fentanyl were 122 percent of what they were between 2005 and 2014.

Before 2015, the greatest number of fentanyl-related deaths in a single year in West Virginia was 60, according to data from the West Virginia Health Statistics Center.

The numbers have since skyrocketed — 180 fentanyl-related deaths in 2015, then 366 in 2016, and 596 in 2017. 

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has not yet released overdose death data for 2018. But based on what local police agencies are seeing on the ground, the number could continue to rise. 

“We’re seeing a lot of heroin and meth,” said Raleigh County Sheriff Scott Van Meter. “Fentanyl, too.” 

Oftentimes, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin, is “cut” into other drugs, making the dose much more potent than a user anticipates. 

In 2015, Raleigh County reported nine fentanyl-related deaths. The number rose to 12 in 2016, and to 35 in 2017. 

The WVU research team, comprised of Gordon Smith, Marie Abate, Zheng Dai and medical examiners from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, attributes the surge in fentanyl to illegal imports from China. 

“Up until then, people who were shifting from legal prescription drugs to illegal drugs were shifting to heroin and opioids coming in from Mexico and other places,” said Smith, an epidemiologist in the School of Public Health. “But then people started manufacturing fentanyl in China, setting up clandestine labs, staying one step ahead of drug-enforcement agencies.”

He said fentanyl and carfentanil, a fentanyl analog that’s a thousand times stronger than morphine and heroin, are easy to export. 

“Instead of having to smuggle truckloads of heroin in, someone can send small packages through the mail,” he said.

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Sheriff Van Meter said his agency isn’t seeing a lot of prescription pills these days, and the overdose deaths rates reflect it.

The state Health Statistics Center reported 30 hydrocodone- or oxycodone-related deaths in Raleigh County in 2015. The number was cut nearly in half the following two years — 17 in 2016, and 16 in 2017. 

The WVU research team found that prescription opioids played a role in 75 percent fewer deaths in West Virginia between 2015 and 2017 than over the previous 10 years.

As “pill mills” have been shuttered and doctors have been prosecuted for overprescribing, fewer opioids are available for diversion. 

“Now, heroin and meth have taken over, primarily because of cost,” said Beckley Police Chief Lonnie Christian. “It’s a lot cheaper for someone addicted to maintain with heroin and meth, and meth is probably the cheapest.

“What they pay for one prescription pill, they could go one to two days on a high with heroin or with meth.” 

Christian anticipates southern West Virginia will continue to see a surge in meth use. 

The last three years of meth-related overdose deaths in Raleigh County support that prediction. In 2015, the county reported two meth-related overdoses. The following year, there were five. In 2017, there were 13. 

The statewide numbers spiked over that three year timeframe, too. After no more than a couple dozen meth-related deaths each year before 2014, the toll jumped to 49 in 2015; 107 in 2016; and 233 in 2017. 

“That’s probably going to be one of the bigger drugs we’ll see,” Christian said. “I don’t think that’ll go away any time soon. It’s cheap to manufacture, and it’s relatively cheap to a user. That will probably overtake as one of the primary dugs just because of the availability to get it.

“Two factors go into drug sale and use — cost and availability.” 

• • •

Smith said to reduce overdoses, the number of people addicted and using must be decreased. 

“But with fentanyl, you could halve the number of addicts in West Virginia, and the overdose rate could still go up because the strength of the drug coming in is so much stronger and can vary widely from one day to the next,” Smith said. “This is an absolute quandary.”

He recommends more widespread naloxone distribution, including to injection drug users, their families, and to first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters and police.

“Multiple doses may be needed to reverse opioids toxicity,” Smith said, “especially if more potent or long-acting opioids are involved.”

Chief Christian said the battle with drugs is tough. But his agency is focusing on treatment for individuals, and arrests for the dealers. 

“We have to have different solutions out there aside from arrests,” he said. “Arrests are a short-lived fix. There’s always someone waiting to take their place, or they’re back on the streets themselves.”

The Beckley Police Department is involved with two local programs to help individuals connect with treatment — the Quick Response Team (QRT) and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD). 

The QRT, currently serving the City of Beckley, is a team that reaches out to individuals after an overdose. The team tries to engage and connect them to resources. 

LEAD, which is also supported by the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office, is a chance for low-level offenders to be referred to treatment instead of being prosecuted. 

“It takes pressure off the court systems,” Christian explained. “Instead of prosecuting someone who’s going to reoffend, we hope to get them into rehab, get them started with treatment, and end the cycle.” 

Christian encourages anyone who has a friend or family member who’s ready to receive help to contact FMRS Health Systems or the Beckley Police Department. 

“We can get them involved and in contact with the project director, who can do an evaluation and make a determination what’s the best resource as far as programs — in-patient or out-patient — that’s best suited for them.”

For more information, contact FMRS at 304-256-7100, or Beckley Police Department at 304-256-1720. 

— Email: wholdren@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @WendyHoldren