The Kentucky Overdose Fatality Report indicates lethal overdoses among Kentucky residents totaled more than 1,964 in 2020, which is a 49% increase of drug overdose deaths compared to the prior year. Unfortunately, the national number of overdose deaths, which is more than 93,000 in 2020 is the highest number of deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period. In addition to the stress caused by the national pandemic the increase in the death toll is driven mostly by a rise in opioid abuse, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, and the widespread availability of potent inexpensive methamphetamine.
Read Full Press Release