CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said on Tuesday that 13 people died as a result of heroin or fentanyl overdoses during the three-day Memorial day weekend.
Of the 13 dead, nine were men and four were women ranging from age 21 to 60. Ten were black and three were white, the medical examiner office says.
Those who overdose were residents of Cleveland, Parma, Lakewood and as far as Cincinnati.
The deaths are still under investigation and testing.
About this time last year, 11 people overdosed on opioid-related drugs.
Heroin and fentanyl killed at least 41 people in April. That’s more than the 35 fatal overdoses recorded in March but fewer than the 61 recorded in February, the county’s deadliest month ever for heroin or fentanyl overdoses.
Cuyahoga County reported 187 heroin or fentanyl deaths through May 15, putting the county on pace to see about 775 people die this year, the medical examiner’s office said. That would exceed the record number of about 666 deaths in 2016.
An additional 29 people died in April after overdosing on cocaine; the drug was mixed with heroin or fentanyl in 11 of those cases, the medical examiner’s office said.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.cleveland.com/crime/index.ssf/2017/05/heroin_fentanyl_overdoses_in_c.html
