Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Overdose Deaths Up Nearly 22 Percent Citywide, Officials Say

By Nicholas Rizzi | May 24, 2017 9:24am
 A comparison of the lethal dose of heroin compared to fentanyl, which is being mixed in with batches of heroin to cut down on costs for dealers;.
A comparison of the lethal dose of heroin compared to fentanyl, which is being mixed in with batches of heroin to cut down on costs for dealers;.
View Full Caption
New Hampshire State Police Forensic Lab

NEW YORK CITY — The city had a 22 percent increase in overdoses deaths so far this year, which NYPD officials blamed on the introduction of the potent synthetic drug fentanyl to the streets.

So far 344 people have died from overdoses around the city this year, up from 283 from the same time in 2016, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said at a City Council budget hearing Monday. There were also 271 people saved from ODs using the drug naloxone, Boyce said.

"It's a crisis in the city that we've never seen before," Boyce said at the hearing, adding that the number of overdose deaths from last year was more than twice the number of homicides and car crashes in the city.

► READ MORE: Families Torn Apart By Opioid Epidemic

Precincts in Manhattan North had the highest number of overdoses so far this year — 56 — followed by The Bronx with 55.

Staten Island — which has been fighting an opioid epidemic for nearly a decade — had the highest per capita rate of fatal overdoses with 36, Boyce said.

The 122 and 120 precincts had the most overdoses per precincts across the city, with 14 and 12, followed by the Upper East Side's 19th with 11.

READ MORE: In Fight Against Opioids in Hasidic Crown Heights, 'Nobody's Immune'

Officials attributed the large spike in overdose deaths in the past two years to the introduction of fentanyl to heroin batches by dealers to drive prices down and increase potency.

Some users end up with fentanyl-laced drugs by accident, while others actively seek it out for a cheaper high, police said.

NYPD officers have to send all batches of drugs for testing at the lab instead of the street because one touch of fentanyl could be deadly, Boyce said.

The agency started a program to investigate every overdose like a crime scene — taking a page from Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon — and Boyce said they're focused this year on cracking down on dealers.