As overdoses rise, Philly health officials warn about pressed pills — fake painkillers laced with fentanyl inquirer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published December 14. 2020 8:11AM
Aubrey Whelan
The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
PHILADELPHIA – Fatal overdoses in Philadelphia rose through the first six months of 2020, and health officials now fear that the city is on track to surpass the death toll from 2017, the worst year for fatal overdoses on record.
In addition, the city’s overdose crisis is undergoing an alarming demographic shift.
In the first quarter of the year, white residents as they have been for some time were most likely to die of overdoses in Philadelphia. But between April and June, Black Philadelphians’ share of the city’s fatal overdoses nearly doubled, surpassing that of white Philadelphians.