Norwich Overdose Deaths for First Half of 2016: UPDATE

Overdose deaths continue to rise in 2016 with 444 fatalities between January and the end of June.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner predicts that the state will have 888 deaths by the end of the year.

In 2015 there were 729 deaths.

Fentanyl continues to be a strong driving force. Already in 2016 there have been more fentanyl-related deaths than in all of 2015. Projections put the number of fentanyl-related deaths at 446 by the end of 2016 compared to 188 in 2015.

“Heroin and cocaine deaths also have increased,” said Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner. “Some of the increases in the heroin and cocaine deaths, may be related to fentanyl as many of the heroin and cocaine deaths also involved fentanyl.”

The municipalities with the most resident overdose victims are:

1. Hartford: 28
2. New Haven: 22
3. Bridgeport: 21
4. Waterbury: 21
5. New Britain: 18
6. Meriden: 15
7. Bristol: 13
8. Norwich: 13
9. Stratford: 10
10. Danbury: 9

The following Norwich residents passed away from overdoses in 2016 (overdoses may have occurred in other areas):

• A 52 year old male died on 01/25/2016 due to Acute Heroin and Methadone Toxicities.
• A 44 year old male died on 02/07/2016 due to Acute Intoxication Due To The Combined Effects of Fentanyl, Cocaine and Alcohol.
• A 27 year old male died on 02/21/2016 due to Acute Fentanyl Intoxication.
• A 52 year old female died on 03/05/2016 due to Acute Intoxication The Combined Effects of Clonazepam, Buprenorphine and Trazodone.
• A 35 year old male died on 03/06/2016 due to Acute Heroin and Fentanyl Toxicities Associated With Alprazolam Use.
• A 26 year old male died on 03/08/2016 due to Acute Heroin Toxicity. A 68 year old male died on 03/25/2016 due to Acute Cocaine Toxicity.
• A 44 year old male died on 04/06/2016 due to Acetyl Fentanyl, Fentanyl, and Heroin.
• A 33 year old female died on 05/06/2016 due to Acute Fentanyl Intoxication, recent cocaine.
• A 29 year old female died on 05/28/2016 due to Acute Intoxication from the Combined Effects of Heroin, Fentanyl, Metaxalone, Flecainide, Clonidine, and Duloxetine.
• A 25 year old male died on 06/04/2016 due to Acute Heroin and Fentanyl Toxicities Associated with Nordiazepam Use.
• A 33 year old male died on 06/07/2016 due to Acute Intoxication from the Combined Effects of Heroin, Fentanyl and Alcohol.
• A 61 year old male died on 06/30/2016 due to The Combined Effects of Heroin, Fentanyl and Alcohol.

Gill also warned about the dangerous mixture of benzodiazepines such as Valium and Xanax with opioids.

“The Connecticut data shows an increase in deaths involving both opioids and benzodiazepines during the past 4 years,” he said.

Related:
CT Heroin Epidemic: Interactive Map of Deaths by Town

A number of deaths this year included ones where victims thought they purchased cocaine or heroin and instead got pure fentanyl or a mixture that contained fentanyl, Gill said.

“This has been described as drug-Russian roulette,” he said. “One never knows what the packet or syringe contains and whether it may be “loaded” with a fatal shot.”

Below are the number of residents who died of overdoses in the first half of 2016:

• Andover: 0
• Ansonia: 4
• Ashford: 0
• Avon: 1
• Barkhamsted: 0
• Beacon Falls: 1
• Berlin: 2
• Bethany: 0
• Bethel: 2
• Bethlehem: 0
• Bloomfield: 0
• Bolton: 0
• Bozrah: 0
• Branford: 4
• Bridgeport: 21
• Bridgewater: 0
• Bristol: 13
• Brookfield: 1
• Brooklyn: 0
• Burlington: 0
• Canaan: 0
• Canterbury: 0
• Canton: 0
• Chaplin: 1
• Cheshire: 0
• Chester: 0
• Clinton: 2
• Colchester: 1
• Colebrook: 0
• Columbia: 1
• Cornwall: 0
• Coventry: 1
• Cromwell: 0
• Danbury: 9
• Darien: 2
• Deep River: 1
• Derby: 3
• Durham: 0
• East Granby: 0
• East Haddam: 1
• East Hampton: 2
• East Hartford: 3
• East Haven: 3
• East Lyme: 0
• East Windsor: 2
• Eastford: 0
• Easton: 0
• Ellington: 1
• Enfield: 4
• Essex: 0
• Fairfield: 2
• Farmington: 5
• Franklin: 0
• Glastonbury: 1
• Goshen: 0
• Granby: 2
• Greenwich: 2
• Griswold: 3
• Groton: 3
• Guilford: 1
• Haddam: 1
• Hamden: 6
• Hampton: 0
• Hartford: 28
• Hartland: 0
• Harwinton: 1
• Hebron: 2
• Kent: 0
• Killingly: 0
• Killingworth: 0
• Lebanon: 0
• Ledyard: 1
• Lisbon: 0
• Litchfield: 0
• Lyme: 0
• Madison: 2
• Manchester: 9
• Mansfield: 2
• Marlborough: 2
• Meriden: 15
• Middlebury: 0
• Middlefield: 1
• Middletown: 2
• Milford: 5
• Monroe: 4
• Montville: 1
• Morris: 0
• Naugatuck: 4
• New Britain: 18
• New Canaan: 0
• New Fairfield: 2
• New Hartford: 0
• New Haven: 22
• New London: 6
• New Milford: 1
• Newington: 1
• Newtown: 3
• Norfolk: 0
• North Branford: 2
• North Canaan: 2
• North Haven: 1
• North Stonington: 0
• Norwalk: 5
• Norwich: 13
• Old Lyme: 0
• Old Saybrook: 2
• Orange: 0
• Oxford: 3
• Plainfield: 0
• Plainville: 3
• Plymouth: 0
• Pomfret: 0
• Portland: 2
• Preston: 0
• Prospect: 1
• Putnam: 0
• Redding: 0
• Ridgefield: 0
• Rocky Hill: 0
• Roxbury: 0
• Salem: 0
• Salisbury: 0
• Scotland: 0
• Seymour: 3
• Sharon: 0
• Shelton: 8
• Sherman: 0
• Simsbury: 1
• Somers: 4
• South Windsor: 1
• Southbury: 0
• Southington: 3
• Sprague: 0
• Stafford: 0
• Stamford: 4
• Sterling: 0
• Stonington: 1
• Stratford: 10
• Suffield: 1
• Thomaston: 1
• Thompson: 0
• Tolland: 1
• Torrington: 5
• Trumbull: 2
• Union: 0
• Vernon: 4
• Voluntown: 0
• Wallingford: 5
• Warren: 0
• Washington: 0
• Waterbury: 21
• Waterford: 1
• Watertown: 2
• West Hartford: 5
• West Haven: 7
• Westbrook: 1
• Weston: 1
• Westport: 1
• Wethersfield: 3
• Willington: 1
• Wilton: 0
• Winchester: 1
• Windham: 2
• Windsor: 2
• Windsor Locks: 2
• Wolcott: 0
• Woodbridge: 1
• Woodbury: 2
• Woodstock: 0

Image via Dimitris Kalogeropoylos/Flickr Commons