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New Department of Health data released this week shows opioid-related overdose deaths in Vermont have decreased for the first time since 2019.
According to the annual Fatal Overdose Report, 231 Vermonters died of opioid-related overdoses in 2023, a 5% drop from 244 in 2022.
The report includes a caveat that the data is preliminary and there are 15 pending death certificates, so the final figure could still change.
Ninety percent of all drug overdose fatalities in Vermont involved opioids, the report states, noting fentanyl accounted for 95% of opioid fatalities last year. Xylazine, a non-opioid drug linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths nationwide, was involved in 32% of fatal overdoses in Vermont in 2023, up from 28% in 2022. Cocaine, which remains the second most common drug in fatal overdoses, also showed a significant jump in 2023, from 48% to 61%.
New Department of Health data released this week shows opioid-related overdose deaths in Vermont have decreased for the first time since 2019.
According to the annual Fatal Overdose Report, 231 Vermonters died of opioid-related overdoses in 2023, a 5% drop from 244 in 2022.
The report includes a caveat that the data is preliminary and there are 15 pending death certificates, so the final figure could still change.
Ninety percent of all drug overdose fatalities in Vermont involved opioids, the report states, noting fentanyl accounted for 95% of opioid fatalities last year. Xylazine, a non-opioid drug linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths nationwide, was involved in 32% of fatal overdoses in Vermont in 2023, up from 28% in 2022. Cocaine, which remains the second most common drug in fatal overdoses, also showed a significant jump in 2023, from 48% to 61%.
But while prevention, recovery and treatment are essential, enforcement must be part of the conversation. Police have said they need more tools to disrupt drug trafficking. A bill currently in the Senate -- S.58 -- would do just that, increasing penalties for selling fentanyl and Xylazine and charging 16-year-olds as adults in drug trafficking cases. Critics, however, have raised concerns that increased criminalization is an effective method for dealing with what is essentially a public health crisis.
We agree we're never going to arrest our way out of this problem, but we need to do more to hold bad actors accountable, like those who knowingly sell drugs that lead to fatal overdoses or landlords who turn a blind eye to dealers operating in their properties.
At the same time, we cannot lose our compassion for those struggling with addiction. We have all been affected in some way by the opioid crisis. So many of us have loved ones -- a friend, relative or neighbor -- who are struggling with addiction or, sadly, like the more than 200 Vermonters last year, have lost their battle.
These losses are heartbreaking. How we grieve and process them can be complicated.
But in our heartbreak, we must not succumb to anger and become hardened to others who still need -- and want -- our help.
-- Rutland Herald