Deadliest Overdose Year In Cuyahoga County History - 2017

CLEVELAND, OH — Last year was the deadliest in Cuyahoga County for overdose deaths. At least 727 people died in 2017 from fatal narcotics overdoses, according to the preliminary drug report from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office.

“In 2017, we saw a continued worsening of the drug overdose epidemic that has plagued our county. It is heartening to see a relative decline in deaths towards the end of the year, but we are still a long way from the end of the crisis,” said county medical examiner Dr. Thomas Gilson. “We hope this information proves useful to the community in our ongoing efforts to combat this public health emergency.”

The numbers for 2017 are startling. There were 727 overdose drug deaths last year, up from 666 in 2016. There were 492 fentanyl deaths, up from 399 in 2016. There were also 100 fentanyl deaths among African Americans, up from just 58 in 2016. Finally, there were 191 carfentanil deaths in 2017, up from 54 in 2016.

The county said law enforcement have focused on getting carfentanil off the streets, cracking down on dealers and users.

Cocaine use has also increased in Cuyahoga County, according to the preliminary drug report for 2017. There were 290 overdose deaths related to cocaine in 2017, up from 260 in 2016.

While the total number of fatal overdose deaths is higher than any other year in Cuyahoga County history, there are reasons for hope. Overdose deaths spiked by nearly 80 percent in both 2015 and 2016, but only increased by 9 percent in 2017.

The county believes the addition of preventative education, more addiction treatment, and the increased availability of Naloxone — an anti-overdose drug. There were more than 7,700 doses of Narcan administered in Cuyahoga County in 2017 alone.

Early projections show the number of overdose deaths decreasing in 2018, with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner expecting about 680 deaths, versus 2017's 727 deaths.

To read the preliminary report from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office, click here.

“The evolving opioid epidemic has proven to be complex and multifaceted. Last year, we lost 727 victims to a drug overdose – the most we’ve ever lost in Cuyahoga County’s history,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish. “This is a human tragedy. And this crisis impacts our services in many different ways from our jails to the number of children in foster care. We will continue to attack this epidemic through treatment and prevention. And we have filed a lawsuit to hold those pharmaceutical companies accountable for the damage they have caused.”

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