Baltimore Overdoses Hit 110 per 100,000 as Fentanyl Replaces Heroin in Street Supply
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 24
Baltimore Overdoses Hit 110 per 100,000 as Fentanyl Replaces Heroin in Street Supply
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 24
Summary
Baltimore’s street drug market is now dominated by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, with users told that “there’s no heroin in Baltimore City” anymore.
New combinations of ultrapotent lab-made drugs are reaching the streets almost daily, making the supply more dangerous, polluted and unpredictable while intensifying users’ highs through mixed psychoactive chemicals.
The shift has helped drive Baltimore’s overdose death rate to 110 per 100,000 residents, a recent analysis found—the highest among U.S. cities with populations above 500,000.
Nationally, fatal overdoses have climbed since the early 2000s, moving from prescription opioids to heroin and then, over the past decade, to fentanyl and newer synthetic drugs.