HEALTH
NYC Meth Deaths Up Sharply in Recent Years
Overall overdose levels down slightly last year, but crystal fatalities three times 2013’s
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
While overdose deaths
from meth use continue
to be a small
part of all drug overdose
deaths in New York City, a signifi
cant increase in meth overdose
deaths in the city that was fi rst
seen in 2015 and 2016 continued
into 2017 and 2018.
There were 66 meth overdose
deaths in the city in 2018 and 64
such deaths in 2017 — compared
to just 18 in 2013.
Last year, benzodiazepines were
also present in 52 percent of the
meth-involved deaths and fentanyl
was present in 48 percent of
the methamphetamine deaths,
according to data from the city’s
Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene. Cocaine was found in 39
percent of overdose deaths involving
meth in 2018.
Nationally, fentanyl, an opioid,
has been blamed for a substantial
increase in drug overdose deaths
in recent years, with the drug being
found mixed with heroin, cocaine,
methamphetamine, and
other substances.
Dr. Oxiris Barbot noted the modest decline in overall overdose deaths last year, but, amidst clear signs
of increased fatalities among meth users, made clear that “far too many New Yorkers are still dying.”
Overall, there were 1,444 overdose
deaths in New York City in
2018, so meth-involved deaths accounted
for just fi ve percent of all
overdose deaths that year. Last
year’s overdose level in New York
was a three percent decrease from
2017. Sixty percent of all 2018 overdose
NYC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENCE
deaths in the city involved the
use of fentanyl, followed by heroin
being present in 51 percent of such
fatalities, methadone in 14 percent,
and opioid analgesics in 11
percent.
Men died from a meth-involved
overdose at a rate of 1.4 per 100,000
in population in 2018, versus a rate
of 0.5 per 100,000 among women.
The overall rate of overdose
deaths was 20.5 per 100,000 residents
in 2018, compared to 21.1 per
100,000 residents the year before.
That rates vary by neighborhood,
borough, sex, economic status,
and other demographic factors.
Among the meth-involved
deaths, the highest rate was
among residents aged 35 to 54 at
1.3 per 100,000, with the second
highest rate among residents aged
15 to 34 at 1.1 per 100,000, and a
rate of only 0.4 per 100,000 among
residents aged 55 to 84.
The city health department continues
to recommend that people
who are using drugs carry naloxone,
a medication that can reverse
the effects of an opioid drug overdose,
and advises residents to not
mix drugs.
Users should also be accompanied
by others who can administer
naloxone if the medication is
needed.
“The decrease in drug overdose
deaths is promising, but far too
many New Yorkers are still dying,”
Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the city’s health
commissioner, said in a statement
regarding the downturn in total
deaths. “We are closely monitoring
the trends of the epidemic as they
evolve and responding to upticks
in emergency department visits
and deaths with targeted strategies
and community engagement.
We remain fi rmly committed to
expanding life-saving services and
caring for New Yorkers who use
drugs.”
The city health department reported
that there were 55 methamphetamine
overdose deaths
in the city in 2016 and 61 such
deaths in 2015. Those numbers
represent an increase of more than
200 percent compared to the 18
overdose deaths attributable to
meth in 2013. \Compared to the
35 meth overdose deaths in 2014,
the increases in 2015 and 2016 —
74 percent and 57 percent, respectively
— are smaller, but altogether
the data clearly indicate a trend of
increases in deaths attributable to
crystal.
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