Health care
BY ATIRIKTA KUMAR
Texas to see lowest number of drug overdoses since 2020
An increase in the distribution of fentanyl-laced substances is among the deadliest drug threats for Texans right now, said Wendell Campbell, a drug intelligence officer with Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, a federal agency focused on reducing drug trafficking. “About 7 out of 10 pills that we seize off the streets and send to the [Drug Enforcement Administration] lab ... are all fake pills,” Campbell said. Over the last year, the U.S. has seen a 15% de- cline in the number of all drug overdose deaths reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. Texas, while improving, only saw a 1.67% decline. Just nine states nationwide saw an increase in the number of overdose deaths in that time. Dr. Allen Dennis, the medical director of Round Rock Surgery Center and a member of the Texas Medical Association, said states such as Florida and Kentucky have seen higher levels of opioid use in the last few decades, which could explain why other states have seen larger declines. Dennis also said manufactured fentanyl is coming into the U.S. from across the Mexico border, so Texas being the largest border state in the nation is an additional factor to consider, he said.
Change in drug overdose deaths, June 2022-May 2023 vs. June 2023-May 2024 Health care experts report the majority of all drug overdose deaths involve the use of opioids.
Less than -20%
-20% to -10%
-9% to 0%
0% to 10%
More than 10%
U.S. overdose deaths
111,422 94,758
2022-23: 2023-24:
-15%
70%+ of all drug overdose deaths involve opioids
5 Texans die every day from fentanyl poisoning
Overdose deaths per 100,000 residents
Texas overdose deaths
5,643 5,549
27.34 18.19
2022-23: 2023-24:
U.S.
-1.67%
Texas
N
SOURCES: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
The background
The approach
This year, Texas is expected to see the lowest number of drug overdose deaths since 2020, according to the CDC. Overdose deaths decreased in Texas from 5,643 between June 2022- May 2023 to 5,549 between June 2023-May 2024—a 1.67% decrease. About 18 in 100,000 people die annually from an overdose in Texas compared to the national average of about 27 per 100,000 people, according to a report from the CDC. The majority of drug overdose deaths can be attributed to illegally manufactured fentanyl being added to other pills, according to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 79 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2014 and 2,306 in 2023. “There’s a huge increase in counterfeit pills. What that means is, if you get a pill off the street, it’s likely to ... have fentanyl as part of the drug,” said Marcia Ory, a professor at Texas A&M University School of Public Health and the co-lead of the TAMU opioid task force. “So, before, [what] people talked about was prescription drugs; ... what’s killing people [now] are counterfeit drugs that are laced with fentanyl.”
In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott launched a $10 million multimedia awareness campaign as a part of his “One Pill Kills” initiative to combat the fentanyl crisis. The initiative through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission educates Texans on how to prevent, recognize and reverse fentanyl poisonings. The campaign also distributed naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug also known as Narcan, to all 254 Texas counties through the Texas Division of Emergency Management. For the upcoming 89th Texas Legislature, Dennis said the Texas Medical Association is asking the state to pass bills that would: • Legalize fentanyl test strips • Mandate the tracking of opioids from manufacturers to patients “There are things we can do to mitigate the issue, but it’s going to take a collaborative effort with everyone concerned,” Ory said.
5,093
Fentanyl poisoning deaths in Texas All drug poisoning deaths Fentanyl-related deaths
0 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000
2,306
2,111
79
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
19
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