10 residents of a single Ohio county fatally overdose on drugs likely laced with fentanyl in just 26 HOURS
- 10 people overdosed in 26 hours in Franklin County, Ohio, as of 10am on Sunday
- The Coroner’s Office did not reveal what drug was involved in the deaths, but suggested it may be linked to fentanyl
- Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine
- Officials suggested residents carry the anti-overdose drug naloxone with them in case a loved one overdoses
At least 10 people died of drug overdoses in one Ohio county over the course of 26 hours this past weekend, officials said.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office said on Sunday that it believes the deaths may be linked to fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine.
None of the victim’s names, ages or genders have been released at this time.
County officials are now urging residents to carry the anti-overdose drug naloxone with them at all times in case a loved one overdose on opioids.
Ten unnamed people in Franklin County, Ohio, overdosed over 26 hours, according to the Coroner’s Office. It may be linked to fentanyl, the synthetic opioids 100 times stronger than morphine (file image)
‘As of about 10 am this morning we have had 10 people die of overdoses in about 26 hours,’ Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz said in a statement on Facebook on Sunday.
‘This is an unusually high number for our county in this period of time.
‘At this time we know fentanyl can be mixed into cocaine and methamphetamine. These can be deadly combinations for those who are using.’
This is not the first time Franklin County has been struck by to multiple overdose deaths in a short time period.
Last month, the Coroner’s Office reported that six people fatally overdosed in less than 24 hours between August 10 and 11. And in July, nine residents died from overdoses over the course of two days.
A report last year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that more than 70,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2017.
As the opioid epidemic continues to worsen, Ohio has been one of the hardest hit states due to a waning economy and a large prison population.
In 2017, The Buckeye State had the second-highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The state had a rate of 39.2 deaths per 100,000 persons – more than two and-a-half times the national average.
Synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, have been blamed for growing number of deaths in Ohio, increasing from 139 deaths in 2012 to 3,523 deaths in 2017.
Fentanyl, which often gets mixed into other drugs, is extremely potent. Just 0.25 milligrams can kill somebody.
In 2017, Franklin County released an ‘Opiate Action Plan’ that has four goals: to prevent opioid abuse and addiction, to reduce fatal opioid overdoses, to expand treatment access and to improve safety of the community.
The website for the city of Columbus, which is in the county, also lists where people get naloxone and free fentanyl testing strips.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office did not immediately return DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
