Unintentional Overdose Deaths

The following graphs are intended to provide relevant demographic information about those who died from drug overdose identified as accidental during the years 2019-2023. The larger sample size provided by totaling across five years increases both confidentiality of the individuals involved and confidence in how the data is interpreted. Use the tabs above the graphs to navigate across 10 graphs. Tap or hover over any bar to see details.

This dataset will be updated annually. 

Muertes relacionadas con drogas

Deaths may include overdose deaths due to pharmaceutically and illicitly produced, naturally occurring, semi-synthetic, and synthetic drugs. Deaths represented in this graph may not be attributed to overdose.

 
In This Section

• How to lower the risk of opioid overdose
• Fentanilo
• Xylazine
• Drug Test Strips for Xylazine and Fentanyl
• Naloxone (Narcan®)
• Servicios locales y apoyo

 
How to lower the risk of opioid overdose

• Never use alone. Use with others and take turns.
• Before using drugs, ask someone you trust to check on you regularly.
• If you are alone call the Never Use Alone hotline. Dial 1-877-696-1996. An operator will stay with you while you use, and call emergency services if needed.
• Test your drugs. Use test strips to test your drugs for Xylazine and Fentanyl. Drugs with one of these cut in can kill you.
• Always carry naloxone (Narcan®) with you.
• Go slow by taking small amounts, especially if you haven’t used for a while.
• Wait before taking more. Wait long enough to feel the effects of the drugs you took before taking more.
• Avoid mixing with alcohol or other drugs, especially drugs that make you sleepy.
• There is no safe dose of opioids.

Fentanilo

El fentanilo es una sustancia sintética altamente adictiva que se agrega a las drogas callejeras ilícitas para aumentar el consumo. También está muy asociado con el riesgo de muerte por sobredosis. El Departamento de Salud del Condado de Tompkins ha emitido una Alerta de salud advirtiendo sobre el alto riesgo de la presencia local de fentanilo en las drogas callejeras.

Los efectos secundarios dañinos incluyen los siguientes 

• Sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, pupillary constriction, and respiratory depression.

Los signos de sobredosis incluyen 

• Stupor, changes in pupillary size (pinpoint size pupils), cold and clammy skin, cyanosis (blue discoloration of the skin), coma and respiratory failure leading to death. 

Estrategias de prevención de sobredosis 

• Nunca lo use solo
• Use fentanyl test strips as a precaution
• Carry Narcan and be trained in its use
• Busque tratamiento y apoyo

 
Xylazine

Xylazine (also called “tranq” or “tranq dope”) is a powerful non-opioid sedative or tranquilizer that is increasingly being found in the US illegal drug supply and linked to overdose deaths. Due to its impact on the opioid crisis, fentanyl mixed (adulterated) with xylazine has been declared an emerging threat by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. In one study, xylazine was found in almost 80% of drug samples that contained opioids (Maryland, 2021-2022). In another, xylazine was found in 31% of heroin and/or fentanyl overdose deaths (Philadelphia, 2019). [Source: CDC]

Symptoms and health risks of xylazine

• Sedation, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood pressure, slowed heart rate, wounds that can become infected, severe withdrawal symptoms, death.

Reduce the overdose and the harms of overdose 

• Never use alone.
• Provide rescue breaths, especially for people who have used xylazine since xylazine causes breathing to slow down. Harm reduction experts also suggest rolling individuals on their side, into the recovery position.
• Carry naloxone and learn how to use it. Because xylazine is often mixed with opioids like fentanyl, naloxone should be given in response to a suspected overdose to reverse any possible opioid effects. Importantly, naloxone will not reverse effects of xylazine. In the event of an overdose, call 911 for additional medical treatment.
• Reduce injection-related risks by using sterile injection equipment, rotating injection sites, allowing skin veins time to heal before another use, and taking drugs in other ways besides injection.
• Test drugs before using. There are commercially available test strips to test for the presence of xylazine in a sample of drugs. Test strips are available free of cost at a variety of local programs (see "Local services and support" section below).

 
Test Strips for fentanyl and xylazine

• Fentanyl and Xylazine Test Strips can tell you if your drugs contain the synthetic opioid Fentanyl or the non-opioid sedative Xylazine. Both are frequently found in street drugs. Xylazine is always cut in with fentanyl, so drugs that test positive for xylazine will also contain fentanyl.
• If used correctly, these test strips can help to prevent overdose deaths and, with other risk reduction practices, save your life.
• Fentanyl Test Strips are blue and marked with the letters “FYL”.
• Xylazine Test Strips are red and marked with the letters “XYL”.

 
 PDF version for how to use xylazine and fentanyl test strips. 

Naloxone (Narcan®)

Naloxone (Narcan®) is a medicine that can reverse the effects of an overdose from opioids, including fentanyl, heroin, and opioid-based pain killers. It is a tool that community members can use to prevent an overdose from becoming a death.

 
Carry Naloxone with you

A statewide pharmacy standing order allows anyone* to get naloxone (Narcan®) nasal spray at a pharmacy without a prescription in NYS. Ask for it at the pharmacy counter. Insurance covers up to $40 copay. If you don’t have insurance you can buy naloxone at the pharmacy or you can get it for free at one of the local community agencies listed below. Or dial 2-1-1 for additional assistance.

• TC Whole Health, 201 E. Green St., Ithaca 
• Alcohol & Drug Council, Ithaca
• Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services,
• REACH Medical
• Southern Tier AIDS Program.
• 211 Tompkins/ Cortland.
  • Dial 2-1-1 (or 1-877-211-8667) 24/7.
  • Text your Zip Code to TXT211 (898211). Available M-F 9 AM to 4 PM

*Dispensing to adolescents under age 18 is at the discretion of the pharmacist.

 
Project COPE (NYS OASAS)

Community Overdose Prevention Education: Project COPE website. 
Harm reduction tools and strategies to prevent overdose deaths and save lives in our community.

Local and regional services and support

Emergencia

• Llame al 911 de inmediato si usted o alguien conocido está teniendo una emergencia médica.
• Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, línea telefónica para situaciones de crisis, 9-8-8, ofrece consejería de crisis gratuita y confidencial, disponible las 24/7.

 
Prevención

• Southern Tier AIDS Program (STAP): brinda servicios integrales de VIH/SIDA en la región de Southern Tier de Nueva York. Ofrece el Programa de prevención de sobredosis por opioides, que brinda a las personas capacitación, un kit de naloxona y una receta para poder llevar y distribuir este medicamento que puede salvar vidas.
• La Asociación de Salud Mental en el condado de Tompkins, página de inicio, se estableció en 1954 para abordar las necesidades de salud mental en la comunidad de Ithaca.
  • El Jenkins Center for Hope and Recovery es un centro de acogida para quienes usan o han usado servicios de salud mental. Este centro proporciona un entorno seguro donde aquellas personas que necesitan servicios de salud mental pueden relajarse, divertirse con sus compañeros y compartir información y apoyo.
• La Oficina de Servicios y Apoyos para la Adicción del Estado de Nueva York alberga  el "Project COPE", un sitio web que promueve la prevención de sobredosis y la educación para la reducción de daños en el Estado de Nueva York. El objetivo de esta iniciativa es capacitar a las personas para que aprendan a prevenir sobredosis y salvar vidas en su comunidad.
• Recursos adicionales para servicios de prevención: Directorio de proveedores del NYS AIDS Institute

 
Using

• Sitios de recolección y eliminación de objetos punzocortantes en el condado de Tompkins
• Never Use Alone hotline. Dial 1-877-696-1996. An operator will stay with you while you use, and call emergency services if needed.
• Test strips for Fentanyl and test strips for xylazine are available for free at the Southern Tier AIDS Program, REACH Medical, Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services, and Tompkins County Whole Health's office at 201 E. Green St.
• Narcan, fentanyl testing strips and xylazine testing strips can be ordered free of cost and delivered to your home via NYS OASAS. Complete the order form online at: oasas.ny.gov/harm-reduction.
• MATTERS facilitates rapid referrals to outpatient treatment for opioid and substance use disorders. Referrals are submitted online 24/7, 365 days a year by participating referral sites throughout NYS. Individuals may request test strips through the MATTERS website. Find them at mattersnetwork.org. Get the MATTERS Network mobile app on the App Store or Google Play.
• Hay disponibles grupos de apoyo comunitarios para ayudar a las personas a transitar su recuperación personal, así como a los amigos y familiares afectados por el consumo de sustancias de sus seres queridos.

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Tratamiento

• Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services (CARS) offers intensive residential and out-patient treatment services, including Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). CARS offers Open Access Monday thru Thursday from 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Clients need only to bring an insurance card, if they have one. 607-273-5500.
• REACH Medical provides medical and behavioral services, including MAT. The REACH Project is a non-profit operating as a low threshold, harm reduction medical practice in Ithaca. Reach Medical offers a wide range of services including: opioid replacement therapy, medical cannabis certification, Hep C treatment, primary care and behavioral services, in a stigma-free, inclusive setting. 607-273-7000. REACH Project Facebook page.
• Oficina de Servicios y Asistencia para Adicciones (OASAS) del Estado de Nueva York: Buscador de tratamientos
• About Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)

Recuperación

• Ithaca Community Recovery, is a non-profit organization that provides a meeting and activity space for Ithaca’s recovering community. They host a variety of meetings, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon Meetings, Narcotics Anonymous, and more. Go to their website for meeting schedules.
• Mental Health Association in Tompkins County was established in 1954 to address mental health needs in the Ithaca community.
  • El Jenkins Center for Hope and Recovery es un centro de acogida para quienes usan o han usado servicios de salud mental. Este centro proporciona un entorno seguro donde aquellas personas que necesitan servicios de salud mental pueden relajarse, divertirse con sus compañeros y compartir información y apoyo.

Prevención del suicidio

• Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, ofrece asesoramiento gratuito y confidencial para casos de crisis. La línea para situaciones de crisis está disponible 24/7 en el 9-8-8.
• Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
• The Sophie Fund, Inc., una corporación benéfica sin fines de lucro establecida en 2017 para apoyar iniciativas de salud mental que ayudan a los jóvenes en el área metropolitana de Ithaca y el condado de Tompkins. Apoya programas y proyectos; crea conciencia y combate el estigma en torno a la enfermedad mental y su tratamiento; promueve un espíritu de "cero suicidio" en la comunidad; y actúa como defensor comunitario para jóvenes que luchan contra enfermedades mentales. 

Nacional

• Línea de ayuda nacional de SAMHSA FindTreatment.SAMHSA.gov/, 1-800-662-4357 (HELP). La línea de ayuda proporciona información gratuita y confidencial en inglés y español para personas y familiares que enfrentan problemas de salud mental y abuso de sustancias. Las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana. El sitio web también tiene un buscador de ubicaciones para los servicios de tratamiento más cercanos según el código postal ingresado.
• Recursos de SAMHSA para familias que enfrentan trastornos mentales y por uso de sustancias

 Need help finding help?   Dial 2-1-1 (877-211-8667) for supportive referrals.