CT on pace to set new record for drug deaths in 2019

A total of 544 died in Connecticut as a result of accidental drug intoxication in the first six months of the year, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.

The statistic released Friday means Connecticut is projected to see 1,088 overdose deaths by the end of the year, which would exceed last year’s total of 1,017 and the record of 1,038 from 2017, according to the medical examiner, Dr. James Gill.

Opioids were involved in 94 percent of the deaths, with fentanyl the most common, according to a summary prepared by Gill’s office.

“Fentanyl continues to be the most common drug detected (in over 75% of all accidental drug intoxication deaths),” Gill said in an email summarizing the results. “Deaths involving cocaine also continue to increase.”

Gill said that xylazine, a tranquilizer used by veterinarians, was detected in 26 of the deaths involving fentanyl.

“This is likely being added locally as an adulterant,” he said.

Heroin, morphine and/or codeine were involved in a total of 200 overdose deaths. The vast majority of those — 193 deaths — involved heroin.

Cocaine was involved in 390 deaths. Amphetamines and/or methamphetamines were involved in 52 deaths, and MDMA was present in six cases.

A spreadsheet on the website of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner includes details of each case, including town, age of the victim and a brief description of the circumstances.

The youngest person killed by accidental overdose was an 18-year-old who died at his home Feb. 18 as a result of an overdose of fentanyl and hydroxyzine, an antihistamine.

The...

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