Overdoses killed 391 people in Queens last year, says DA

QUEENS – Almost 400 residents of Queens died from drug overdoses in 2020, an increase of almost 50% from the previous year, which echoes a national spike in overdose deaths during the pandemic.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz revealed on Friday that 391 Queens residents had died of drug overdoses last year. “There is no doubt that the pandemic, which has fueled a national drug crisis, has also hit us hard here in our borough,” she said, alluding to the registration number of drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2020.

In part, health officials attributed this nationwide spike in the growing prevalence of drugs containing the deadly synthetic opioids, namely fentanyl – a trend also visible in Queens, where 71% of last year’s drug overdose deaths were opioid-related, according to the DA.

“While there were 82 homicides in Queens last year, there have been nearly five times as many deaths from drug overdoses, and the overwhelming majority has been attributed to fentanyl,” said DA Katz, who described the opioid crisis as “one of the greatest public health challenges facing current and future generations of Queens residents.”

As a warning, the district attorney pointed out that fentanyl is made all the more dangerous when accidentally mixed with other drugs because seen recently in New York with cocaine containing fentanyl, which (anecdotal) contributed to overdose deaths across town as people began to party again.

In Queens, deaths linked to cocaine containing fentanyl spurred Narcan’s training sessions, where New Yorkers learned how to administer the drug that can reverse opioid overdoses. (Narcan Kits and Narcan training sessions are widely available in the city and State.)

Over the past year, the increasing prevalence of fentanyl has been compounded by pandemic-related stressors, which simultaneously increases drug use and made access to care more difficult – a perfect storm for drug overdoses.

“It has been an incredibly uncertain and stressful time for many people, and we are seeing an increase in drug use, challenges in accessing life-saving treatments for substance use disorders, and drug abuse. tragic increase in overdose deaths, “said Dr Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse Control, says NPR.

Dr Volkow added that people aged 35 to 44 make up the highest number of overdose deaths nationwide – a similar trend in Queens, where nearly half of all overdose deaths in 2020 are between 31 and 50.

the federal government began to focus evidence-based harm reduction and treatment interventions in its efforts to tackle substance abuse and overdose – tools that are available in queens, too much.

“Evidence-based public health and safety interventions are our most effective tools to help residents get their lives back on track,” said DA Katz.

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