My Recovery Day is a Cleveland Ohio based nonprofit that provides post-treatment support resources to individuals in addiction recovery. By the very nature of what we do, we look at statistics concerning addiction. Sadly, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner reported 66 deaths from heroin, fentanyl and cocaine for the month of May 2020. This number is one short of the record 67 recorded in February 2017 and may be exceeded once more tests are confirmed. Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are not unique. Other cities and counties like Chicago and Cook County has experienced a doubling in its opioid related deaths, too (ProPublica). It is a well-known fact the pandemic has increased isolation, anxiety and financial stress. For those in active addiction and in addiction recovery, these stressors can result in fatal overdoses and in relapses. Yes, the pandemic is a crisis but the opioid crisis never went away. It was…
Fentanyl
May 1, 2018 The National Institute on Drug Abuse announce that an analysis of opioid-related overdose deaths found that synthetic opioids, such as illicit fentanyl, have surpassed prescription opioids as the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the U.S. A research letter