- October 11, 2024
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Fentanyl was involved in 81.2% of drug overdose deaths in Volusia County in 2022 — a 10% increase from 2021, Volusia County Medical Examiner Dr. James Fulcher reported at an Aug. 1 County Council meeting.
Fulcher, who was providing the council with his office's 2022 annual report, said about one-third of fentanyl-related drug overdose cases also involved the use of methamphetamine or cocaine — 38.5% and 30% of cases, respectively.
"That triad of drugs has significant synergistic toxic effects, and I believe that's why we're seeing people die," Fulcher said.
Drug overdose deaths totaled 335 in 2022 for Volusia County. That figure is more than double the number of vehicle crash deaths that year, which totaled 142, according to county data.
Despite the spike in fentanyl-related deaths, the number of overall drug overdose deaths is trending down, Fulcher said. In 2021, there were 400 drug overdose deaths.
What's being sold on the streets is fentanyl, he added, and at dangerous concentrations which require Narcan to be administered immediately and more than once.
"I haven't seen a heroin death this year," he said. "You're not buying heroin. You're not buying OxyContin. You are buying fentanyl — hard stop, I guarantee it. And the numbers we see in our fatalities are still sky high."
Councilman Danny Robins, who chairs the Volusia County Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board, asked Fulcher if the council could do anything to help lower the percentage of fentanyl-related overdose deaths.
Fulcher's answer? More education, and more Narcan. But it's also a national problem, he said.
"There are national things that have to happen," Fulcher said. "We can't solve this on our own."
Robins suggested the county create an informational video for its website and social media pages. County Councilman Troy Kent supported that proposal, particularly to reach children in middle and high school.
"I just get disgusted thinking about a high school kid or middle school kid thinking they're buying something, making a bad decision," he said. "But this is not just a one-time bad decision. This is an end-of-life bad decision."
Robins said that in the spring, the Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board and Volusia Sheriff's Office sent a letter to the Volusia County School Board encouraging the district to give school guardians and nurses access to Narcan.
"I know there was some tension there initially," Robins said.
In a statement to the Observer in May, Volusia County Schools said it didn't plan to require school nurses and other staff to take on the responsibility of administering Narcan.
In April, neighboring Flagler Schools became the first school district in the state to adopt a policy to equip school nurses with Narcan.
