GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After two years of decline, drug overdose deaths in Kent County increased 11% last year, with the pandemic getting some of the blame.
The Kent County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 121 overdose deaths in 2020, with two cases still pending. The county saw 109 overdose deaths in 2019.
“I think our drug overdoses have increased in the last year because of Covid,’’ said Kent County Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle. “I think it is because they’re confined to home, they’re bored.’’
Fentanyl, Cohle said, was responsible for more overdose deaths than any other drug.
“Fentanyl is probably our single most common and problematic drug,’’ he said. “Oftentimes we will identify that in the drug screen along with heroin or heroin metabolites.’’
Kent County is not unique. Spikes in overdose deaths are being reported in cities and states across the U.S.
The pandemic has generated more stress, left vulnerable people isolated and played havoc with drug treatment and recovery programs, addiction experts say.
“People also get depressed,’’ Cohle said. “It all factors together to increase the abuse of narcotics.’’
Kent County in 2017 recorded 156 overdose deaths, fueled by opioids, notably fentanyl. Overdose deaths dropped in 2018 and in 2019. Then came the pandemic.
Preliminary data from the state of Michigan shows 1,340 overdose deaths for the first half of 2020, a 16% increase over the same period in 2019.
“This illustrates that there is much more work to do and we will not rest until we have made further progress in addressing an issue that has devastated far too many families,’’ said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says provisional data point to an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic.
CDC officials said the disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly hard on those with a substance use disorder.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge, whose office prosecutes federal drug crimes in western Michigan, says the pandemic has opened the door for those who prey on the vulnerable.
“When you have a pandemic, what’s going on is a lot of these addicts can’t get to the medically assisted treatment that they would normally be able to access,’’ Birge said. “That drives them to the street suppliers.’’
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