Twenty-two people died in Connecticut from fatal overdoses during a 72-hour period last weekend. Advocates say a toxic supply of fentanyl is to blame.
“This is a public health emergency. People need to know that there’s a toxic supply of opioids in Connecticut,” said John Hamilton, president of Liberation Programs, a treatment and prevention nonprofit based in Bridgeport.
He said there hasn’t been a spike like this since March, and that the state has actually recently seen a decrease in fatal overdoses.
Hamilton said there’s been an increase in fentanyl quantity in the samples they analyze at his organization, and that fentanyl has also been combined with medetomidine, an animal tranquilizer. He said this combination was first seen in Philadelphia a few years ago, but came to Connecticut only two months ago.
“If they’re going to use, people need to go low and slow because if they were using three bags before, and they use three bags today, it will kill them,” Hamilton said.
He said he and his team recognize that only one out of 10 people will seek treatment this year, so their goal is to keep the other nine out of 10 alive. They’re trying to do this by distributing Narcan, or Naloxone, and engaging with and informing people about the toxic supply.
According to a Yale School of Public Health report from 2016-2017, people who went into treatment for one month but didn’t receive medication to aid in their recovery were 70% more likely to fatally overdose than those who didn’t receive any treatment at all.
“[We’re trying to] keep them engaged and give them accurate information and treat them with love and dignity. They have a multitude of issues that they need to address before even considering treatment,” he said. “We try to build on their recovery capital until they're ready to be involved in formal treatment. It's the best treatment possible, which is meeting people where they are without our agenda, and we'll continue to do that.”
He said they’ve increased their hours, too.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said at a press conference last week that fatal overdoses can't continue. He said the potential cuts to Medicaid will leave people with fewer resources to fight their addictions.
The deaths occurred in Fairfield County, New Haven County and Hartford County.
