‘A really scary moment’: Young people’s overdose deaths jumped in 2020, so, what now? – By Terry DeMio (Cincinnati Enquirer) / April 7, 2022
A Northern Kentucky teenager overdosed on March 2 after using fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that’s killing people across the country at never-before-seen rates. The 17-year-old girl, say sheriff’s deputies, sought out the drug and took it on purpose. She survived, and deputies arrested the woman accused of selling the drug.
Fentanyl deaths soar in 2020
In Hamilton County, a high school student died from an overdose just a few months earlier. Hamilton County coroner’s reports show the 18-year-old had ingested cocaine and fentanyl. It’s a deadly mix that’s increasing overdoses, and it’s not clear whether those who use the combination are aware of the fentanyl content.
Overdose deaths among teens and young adults escalated in 2020 – as nearly 92,000 overdose deaths were counted in America. And the preliminary toll on 2021 overdose deaths was more than 100,000. Most of the deaths were blamed on synthetic opioids including fentanyl.
