Overdose deaths on the rise in Wyoming, and fentanyl is playing a role

Wyoming is experiencing an increase in overdose deaths, and state health officials believe it’s tied to rising fentanyl use.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 times as strong as heroin. It’s normally used to treat severe pain, such as that experienced by cancer patients. But it’s also being produced illicitly.

Nationally, deaths from overdoses of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are up considerably.

Between 2019 and 2020 alone, they rose 56%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Wyoming, overdose deaths have been growing steadily since 2017, when the state recorded 62. Last year, there were 106, a rise of roughly 71%.

“The increase over the last couple of years in overdose deaths is partially due to an increase in synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths,” said state health officer Alexia Harrist. “In fact, between 2018 and 2021 the number of synthetic opioid-involved fatal overdoses among residents of our state more than quadrupled while the deaths connected with most other opioids stayed relatively stable.”

Fentanyl is not only more potent, Harrist added — it can also be more addictive.

In light of the rise in fentanyl abuse and deaths, state health officials are advising people to learn to identify and respond to overdoses and talk with health care providers about access to Narcan, a drug that counteract the effects of an overdose.

More information about drug treatment in Wyoming can be found at health.wyo.gov/behavioralhealth/mhsa/treatment/rsac/.

Originally published at https://trib.com on October 17, 2022.