Medical Examiner midyear statistics show jump in fentanyl deaths

Unintentional fentanyl overdose deaths in the San Diego region increased by 68% when comparing this year’s midyear data with the same period for 2018, statistics just released by the County Medical Examiner’s Office show.

From January through June this year, there were 69 fentanyl deaths compared to 41 in the first six months of last year. Fentanyl is an illicit synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 25 to 50 times stronger than heroin. The high-potency drug is lethal, even in tiny doses.

“In the last decade when someone overdosed on fentanyl, it was often when...