The county medical examiner, Thomas Gilson, told cleveland.com that the spike was attributable to multiple factors, including the increased social interaction and the lower drug tolerance of users after weeks of quarantine. A possible influx of dangerous local designer drugs due to fewer substances arriving from China and Mexico might also have contributed.
Ideastream reported that local hospitals and nonprofits also had to cut back or reshape many of their addiction services in an effort to limit physical interactions with patients and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Since alerts went out last week, the county has continued to see both overdose deaths and drug-related emergency room visits at rates higher than normal. The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County (ADAMHS) reported a 17 percent increase in emergency department visits in May as compared to this point in April.
Both the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and ADAMHS are encouraging the use of fentanyl test strips, which can detect fentanyl in other drugs. Fentanyl is an opioid 50 times stronger than heroin and has been detected in huge numbers of overdose deaths in recent years.
"Anyone using illicit drugs – heroin, cocaine, crack – can use these strips to see if the drugs they bought contain fentanyl and make an informed decision about using that drug," wrote ADAMHS in a recent update.
Free fentanyl test strips are available at the following locations:
- Circle Health Services (12201 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106 | 216.721.4010)
- Care Alliance Clinic (2916 Central Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115 | 216.535.9100)
- Care Alliance Clinic (1530 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland OH 44114 | 216.781.6724)
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