With a population of over 3.6 million people as of 2022, residents of Connecticut are more likely to die from an accidental overdose than a motor vehicle accident, according to the Connecticut Department of Health (DPH).
Overdose deaths have been steadily rising throughout the country because of continuous misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers and an increased use of illicit street drugs like heroin or fentanyl. Since 2012, Connecticut has seen an exponential growth in accidental overdose deaths through the years.
Since 2012, Connecticut has seen a roughly 389 percent increase in accidental overdose deaths, rising from 357 to projected 1,391 in 2023, according to CT DPH, with over 20 percent of these deaths involving xylazine. These numbers could still be higher as data is subject to change as cases are still pending and being collected. In 2021, Connecticut had approximately 1,524 unintentional overdose deaths, its highest ever.
Xylazine, also called “tranq” or “tranq dope,” is a non-opiate sedative generally used for its anesthetic properties for surgeries and treatment in horses and deer. This animal tranquilizer has been more and more frequently seen in overdose deaths in recent years.
Unlike previous drugs being misused and abused, xylazine is an anesthetic and causes a sedative type of fugue state, which slows the breathing of its user, drastically affecting the central nervous system.
With xylazine’s emergence, the Drug Enforcement Administration has stated that the combination of this drug with other system depressants such as heroin or fentanyl has proven to contribute to fatal overdoses, flesh wounds, and even amputation.
While xylazine is a sedative that leaves its user in this fugue state, the effect is very similar to that of heroin or fentanyl and is also why dealers use it. Spotting the difference is not easily discernable in an active user.
Epidemiologist Heather Clinton works for the CT DPH in the sector of community, family health and prevention and has been working to update Connecticut residents on the ongoing opioid problem in state.
“In Connecticut, xylazine was first detected in overdose deaths beginning in March 2019. Except for a few cases involving cocaine, all of the xylazine-related overdose deaths have co-involved fentanyl. Xylazine is primarily added as an adulterant to fentanyl to enhance the drug effects of effects of fentanyl. Many end drug users may not even be aware that their fentanyl contains xylazine,” Clinton wrote in an email.
Pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma has largely been blamed for the increase of substance use disorder throughout the United States with their manufacturing of Oxycontin, a narcotic they heavily advertised to be non-addictive and safe for people to take as needed.
In a past press release, Attorney General Tong announced Connecticut will receive $300 million from a historic $26 billion settlement agreement with pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson to fight the opioid epidemic. The settlement will be paid out over 18 years, with funds directed to opioid use disorder prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.
More recently, Tong announced a $350 million settlement against the multinational marketing firm Publicis Health over their role in helping fuel the opioid crisis. Connecticut will receive approximately $4.44 million from the settlement to help tackle the crisis.
“Publicis was a callous mercenary behind some of Purdue Pharma’s worst sale and marketing tactics. Together with Purdue, Publicis schemed new, ruthless ways to push OxyContin to more and more patients, fueling the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage Connecticut families and communities across the country. Connecticut was among the states leading this investigation and today’s settlement, as we continue to play an aggressive role in bringing the entire addiction industry to justice,” said Tong.
In efforts to combat the growing opioid crisis, training and distribution of naloxone have been made more accessible and more widespread throughout the state. Naloxone, or the brand name Narcan, is a narcotic medication designed to reverse an opioid overdose in a person rapidly.
Naloxone acts as an opioid antagonist, meaning that it binds to the opioid receptors and can immediately block and reverse the effects of other opioids in the body.
It can rapidly restore a person’s respiratory system to normal breathing in two to three minutes if slowed or stopped because of an overdose of heroin, fentanyl, or other prescription opioid pain medication.
Visit NextDistro to find Narcan near you.
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