Kentucky releases 2020 Overdose Fatality Report

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WYMT) - The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet and Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) released data from the 2020 Overdose Fatality Report.

According to the report, at least 1,964 Kentuckians died from drug overdoses in 2020, a 49% increase in drug overdose deaths from 2019.

According to in-state cases autopsied by the Kentucky Office of the Medical Examiner and toxicology reports submitted by Kentucky coroners, the increase in the death toll was driven mostly by a rise in opioid abuse, with fentanyl and fentanyl analogues being found in 1,393 cases, accounting for approximately 71% of all overdose deaths for the year.

“In addition to the stress caused by the pandemic, we believe the increase in overdose deaths for 2020 is due to a rise in illicit fentanyl and its analogues within the drug supply. The problem is also exacerbated by the widespread availability of potent, inexpensive methamphetamine,” said Van Ingram, Executive Director of ODCP. “ODCP is committed to changing the way substance abuse is handled in Kentucky, reducing the problem and making the commonwealth a model for other states.”

You can view the 2020 Overdose Fatality Report here, which was compiled with data from the Kentucky Office of the Medical Examiner, the Kentucky Injury Prevention & Research Center, and the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics.

Nationwide, overdose deaths topped more than 93,000 in 2020. The highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period.