- Last year marked the first time since 2020 that overdose deaths increased most steeply in Sussex County.
- Fatal overdoses involving cocaine are continuing to rise, while heroin-related deaths stayed on the decline.
- And worse yet, xylazine is continuing to spread through the state, making most outreach focus on wound care.
At least 537 Delawareans died from drug overdoses in 2022, according to a new report from the Division of Forensic Science. It’s the most yearly overdoses on record for the state, with the majority of deaths involving the highly potent drug fentanyl.
Autopsy data shows that last year’s overdose deaths followed most of the same trends as 2021 — ones that continue to go in concerning directions.
Fatal overdoses involving cocaine are continuing to rise, while heroin-related deaths stayed on the decline.
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And though white Delawareans and New Castle County residents still have the highest overdose rates in the state, overdose deaths among Black Delawareans and people living downstate are growing at an unprecedented rate.
Katie Capelli, an epidemiologist with the Division of Public Health, said these demographic shifts are concerning to the state, as both populations are traditionally underserved.
“We’re working in the state to identify culturally diverse … partners within our community to leverage and utilize to make sure that we respond to the changing demographics,” Capelli said.
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Overdose rates among Black Delawareans rose by almost 21% from last year, with the demographic now comprising 29% of fatal overdoses in the state.
Where overdoses are rising
Last year also marked the first time since 2020 that overdose deaths increased most steeply in Sussex County, with overdose deaths in Kent and New Castle Counties staying relatively the same.
These counties are also the ones with the highest concentration of public transportation and treatment options, which advocates say makes it unsurprising that overdoses in rural areas are on the rise.
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“I think that (the state is) definitely making steps to rectify those barriers,” said Leslie Palladino, director of the non-profit Impact Life. “I just think we still have a little bit of a ways to go.”
Many people across the state also lack insurance and have lost temporary pandemic benefits, putting treatment out of the question. And even for those who do have the funds and transportation, stigma around medication-assisted treatment like methadone often stands in the way.
Impact Life CEO Domenica Personti said this stigma likely plays a role in the rising overdose deaths in the Black community, especially when combined with a historically justified distrust of state and medical institutions.
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“We can’t continue to do the same thing and then wait for there to be this miraculous transition and people starting to get well,” Personti said. “The only way that we’re going to shift the tide is if we do some things differently.”
Older Delawareans are overdosing
One unforeseen shift in overdose deaths last year involved the ages of the people who died. In previous years, the designated age group with the most fatal overdoses in Delaware was 31 to 40. In 2022, it was people between the ages of 51 and 60 who showed the highest rate.
Personti said it’s likely that these older Delawareans face similar barriers to treatment, and may have been more likely to have used doctor-prescribed painkillers before eventually transitioning to drugs on the street.
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Even Capelli noted that this change was surprising and said the state is working to conduct more research on it to be able to offer support.
Delaware is also in the process of getting accreditation to be able to test for and report overdose deaths involving xylazine, an animal tranquilizer increasingly found in fentanyl. The drug was not included in the Division of Forensic Science’s annual report, but Capelli said it’s likely that many of the overdoses involving fentanyl — which was present in the vast majority of these deaths — involved xylazine as well.
Activists are seeing the tranquilizer spread across the state and have had to adapt their outreach to best help the people impacted by it.
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Palladino said her organization has started handing out xylazine test strips, and most of their outreach has become “genuine wound care” for skin ulcers caused by xylazine. They’re also working to give out portable oxygen tanks in addition to Narcan to help prevent fatal overdoses in the community, as overdoses on xylazine — which is a sedative, not an opioid — cannot be reversed with the drug naloxone.
Palladino said she worries that if the state, health professionals and advocates don’t take action, xylazine will end up like fentanyl – widespread and, eventually, something that drug users specifically seek out.
“If we don’t really nip it in the bud with just the education and blasting all the different side effects that are coming from the xylazine use,” Palladino said, “I just don’t think that we’re going to catch it in time.”
How to find help
Delaware Hope Line: 833-9-HOPEDE for free 24/7 counseling, coaching and support, as well as links to mental health, addiction and crisis services. Resources also can be found on the Help is Here website.
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
SAMHSA National Helpline: 800-662-HELP (4357) for free 24/7 substance abuse disorder treatment referral services. Treatment service locators also are available online at findtreatment.samhsa.gov or via text message by sending your ZIP code to 435748.
Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.
