1,214 Drug Overdose Deaths Reported In Philadelphia Last Year

PHILADELPHIA — A new report on drug overdoses in Philadelphia catalogs data on how many people, and what kind of people died from overdoses in 2020.

The inaugural OD Stat Annual Report was released Monday and it shows trends and demographics of selected decedents who were reviewed various people and entities, including state, federal, and local authorities as well as those who have lived experiences.

According to the report, 1,214 people died from accidental drug overdoses in Philadelphia last year.

Of those deaths, authorities reviewed 22 to glean details of overdose deaths in the city.

Of the 22, 10 were non-Hispanic Black, nine were non-Hispanic white, and three were Hispanic/Latinx.

Thirteen of the 22 identified as cisgender male, eight as cisgender female, and one as transgender female.

Nineteen of the 22 deaths involved fentanyl, and 17 involved both an opioid and a stimulant. Three deaths involved xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary drug commonly used for sedation and as an analgesic which has been found increasingly in Philadelphia’s street drug supply as a common cutting agent for heroin and fentanyl.

Of the 22 deaths, 16 had at least one medical comorbidity. The most prevalent medical comorbidities included a behavioral health diagnosis, asthma, Hepatitis C virus, and chronic pain.

Thirteen of the 22 had been given medication assisted treatment involving methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone. Five were on prescribed medication when they died.

Twenty-one of the 22 had histories of arrests, and 19 of the 21 had been incarcerated.

Half of the 22 had a documented experience of childhood trauma and 27 percent of decedents had at least one family member fatally overdose.

The 19134 ZIP code had the most unintentional overdose deaths in 2020.

"OD Stat is a collective review of the processes and outcomes across the City programs that are charged with responding to the drug overdose crisis in Philadelphia," said OD Stat Chair and MDO Chief of Staff Aubrey C. Powers. "A constant reflection on our collective efforts is necessary to strengthen our programs and adjust course when the constantly evolving landscape of the overdose crisis changes."

"We have a lot to learn from the complex lives of those who fatally overdosed," said OD Stat Central Administrator Zoe Soslow. “OD Stat members use the lessons learned from our reviews to create or change policy and programs that will prevent future overdoses."

The report concludes with several recommendations to address the city's drug overdoses.

They are: promote and expand access to harm reduction services; overdose prevention must prioritize racial equity; promote and expand access to medication assisted treatment; address trauma for early overdose prevention; make accessing treatment simple, person-centered, and non-punitive; and promote public health-centered approaches to law enforcement.

Read the details on recommendations and see the full data on overdoses in Philadelphia in the report here.