Overdoses up dramatically
From April to December 2020, non-fatal drug overdoses reported to Taunton police went up by 64% compared to those months the year before, increasing from 109 in 2019 to 179 in 2020.
According to Dr. Brian O Connor, president and medical director of Middlesex Recovery Norton, one potential cause, which was a problem before the pandemic, is the growing prevalence of fentanyl on the street and in other street drugs. Probably the number one reason it happened is counterfeit pill production meaning that patients are coming into our office stating that they purchased an oxycodone or a Xanax on the street and it actually was fentanyl, he said.