Drug overdose cases continue to rise in Athens, some linked to dangerous opioid fentanyl
Drug overdoses in Athens continue to rise as police responded to several cases recently, including a situation where two people were found dead.
By the middle of July, the number of suspected overdose deaths was 35, but police reports show by the end of the month that number had risen by at least three.
In 2021, police administered the medication Narcan 71 times to reverse the effects of the opioid overdoses, but already by the end of last month, that number had been surpassed, according to police Lt. Shaun Barnett.
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Autopsy reports show that a dozen of the overdose deaths were confirmed to have involved the dangerous opioid fentanyl, which is often mixed by dealers with other drugs. Toxicology tests are still pending in the other cases.
In the most recent deaths, police responded on July 28 to an apartment off West Broad Street, where they found the bodies of a 40-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman.
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Police believe fentanyl is likely involved in their deaths.
“It is suspected but not confirmed and won’t be confirmed until the autopsy toxicology report is ready,” Barnett said.
The pair was homeless and apparently were allowed to stay in the apartment by the 59-year-old man who leased the residence, according to Athens-Clarke Coroner Sonny Wilson.
Wilson said the woman was originally from Gwinnett County, but he has been unable to locate next of kin for the man.
The previous day, police responded to three 911 calls where people had overdosed on drugs.
Shortly after noon, police were called to same apartment complex where the two overdose victims would die the next day. This time police reported finding a man lying unresponsive on the top floor of a stairwell.
“Officers administered three doses of Narcan and he became responsive,” Barnett said. “There is nothing to indicate it was fentanyl, but for him to become responsive after being administered Narcan, the logical conclusion is it was some sort of opioid.”
The man was hospitalized.
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Less than two hours later, police were called to the Taco Bell on West Broad Street, where a man had locked himself in the bathroom. Police reported they broke open the door and found the unconscious man on the toilet with drug paraphernalia on his lap.
An ambulance had arrived and he was removed by EMS, police said.
About 7:30 p.m. that same day, police were called to a home on Park Ridge Drive in east Athens, where a woman reported her 40-year-old son was in the attic where he had overdosed on fentanyl.
An officer climbed into the attic, pulled the unconscious man to the opening and lowered him to firefighters below, according to the report.
The man was hospitalized and survived.
During the rescue, the officer sustained electric shocks from low-voltage wiring strung along the floor of the attic, the report said.
In July, the Western Circuit District Attorney’s Office and Athens-Clarke police announced the formation of SAFE, or Strategically Addressing the Fentanyl Epidemic. This came after police said there had been 35 suspected overdose deaths in Athens in just the first six months of this year.
These officials are working with other health care and government officials to find a way to address the problem.
The coroner acknowledged how the fact that responding police can administer Narcan is saving lives.
“If they weren’t carrying Narcan, I couldn’t keep up,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens drug overdose cases continue to rise; opioid fentanyl a factor
