NCF Alum Jacob Wentz investigates: Fentanyl Overdose Crisis Rages On During Pandemic
Officials say the pandemic and dealers who mix fentanyl with other drugs have contributed to the increase in overdose deaths in Florida.
The knock on Rhonda Moates’ door came on Aug. 12. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office told her something she had feared for years, but still wasn’t prepared to hear: her 28-year-old son Kevin Wynn had overdosed.
“They came and told me that he had passed,” Moates said. “At seven that morning they had found him and he had died of an overdose of fentanyl.”
Her son was addicted to opioids. He had taken heroin that was laced with the extremely powerful synthetic opioid.
“They measure fentanyl in micrograms,” Moates said. “We’re talking grains of salt.”
Since Wynn’s death, Moates has been working to spread awareness about the dangers of opioids and especially fentanyl.
Between 2015 and 2019, overdose deaths from the drug increased by 250% in Florida.
In 2019, fentanyl was present in over 3,200 of the state’s 5,000 overdose deaths, according to data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2020, the number of overdose deaths climbed to 7,500. Though officials have not yet released how many of those deaths involved fentanyl, they say use of the drug continued to increase during the coronavirus pandemic with deadly results.
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