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FILE - In this March 18, 2019 file photo, James Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks at Volunteers of America as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell looks on in Louisville, Ky. Drug overdose deaths surged by nearly 50% last year in Kentucky, where opioid addiction mixed with pandemic-related stress to set a new record for tragedy and grief from a crisis that continues to ravage the region, a new report said, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021.(Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP, File) Michael Clevenger
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) â Fatal drug overdoses in Kentucky â an ongoing scourge that has ravaged communities in the state â surged nearly 50% last year and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was a âmajor contributing factor,â a state report concludes.
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In this March 18, 2019, file photo, James Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks at Volunteers of America as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell looks on in Louisville, Ky. Drug overdose deaths surged by nearly 50% last year in Kentucky, where opioid addiction mixed with pandemic-related stress to set a new record for tragedy and grief from a crisis that continues to ravage the region, a new report said Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021.
Michael Clevenger | Courier Journal via AP
By BRUCE SCHREINER
The Associated Press Aug 4, 2021
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Drug overdose deaths rose by nearly 50% in Kentucky in 2020, according to new numbers from the state Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
This photo provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Utah and introduced as evidence in a 2019 trial shows fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills collected during an investigation.
Credit AP
Nearly 2,000 Kentuckians died due to drug overdoses amid months of unprecedented lockdowns and record unemployment last year. The increase helped fuel a nationwide escalation in overdoses that took more than 93,000 lives, shattering all previous 12-month records.
The majority of deaths in Kentucky were related to the abuse of opioids – with fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs being cited by the state Medical Examiner’s office as a main driver.