The number of fatal overdoses linked to Kenton County increased from 65 in 2022 to 80 in 2023. On Tuesday, the Northern Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy met with local leaders to discuss these trends throughout the region.
The office presented to the Kenton County Fiscal Court data about overdose trends in the NKY region broadly and in Kenton County. The presentation prompted a discussion among the elected county officials and Amanda Peters, the agency’s director, about drug trends, mental health, public policy and the vagaries of accounting for the drug problem in Kentucky.
The figures Peters cited were collected and released by the state in June. They showed an identical number of 141 fatal overdoses across Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties in both 2022 and 2023.
The total number of fatal overdoses varied between counties. The number of fatal overdoses linked to Kenton County consistently outpaced those linked to Boone and Campbell counties, often by quite a margin.
Steady totals actually indicated some progress, Peters argued, because it meant deaths weren’t spiraling out of control, even in the face of some troubling trends related to drugs.
“I’m hoping that those numbers stay steady next year,” Peters said, “because the drugs coming in are just stronger and stronger, and we’re just seeing more and more.”
The specific trends Peters discussed included the continued prevalence of fentanyl in the underground drug trade, sometimes disguised as prescription medication.
She also discussed an increase in stimulants on the drug market and the proliferation of Xylazine–an animal tranquilizer that enhances the effects of opioids and may be resistant to Narcan (some experts still recommend administering Narcan with overdoses as it is often mixed with opioids) and can lead to the opening of infected, necrotic ulcers throughout the body.
Peters spoke briefly about how the data was collected. Most notably, the state measured non-fatal overdoses and fatal overdoses in two different ways. Fatal overdoses are linked to the person’s registered address, not the place where the overdose occurred. Non-fatal overdoses, on the other hand, are linked to the place where the overdose occurred. That means there’s no guarantee the 80 fatal overdoses mentioned above occurred locally.
The demographics most affected by the overdose increase were Black and Hispanic populations, as well as people aged 55 to 74 and children aged four and younger.
Kenton County Commissioner Joe Nienaber was particularly perturbed by how overdoses were tracked. He feared it painted an inaccurate picture of the problem, as it didn’t show where the drug use was actually occurring. It also obscured the differences in infrastructure between regions—different counties have different health infrastructure, which could conceivably skew the numbers.
“I think the problem is where the body’s dropping,” Nienaber said, “I know that sounds as cold as can be, but generally that’s where it is.”
Nienaber, Peters and others also discussed an ongoing crisis of mental health. In Nienaber’s view, in fact, the drug problem was downwind from a broader crisis in mental health.
“We look at dispatch records, we’re seeing increased domestic violence, we see an increase in crisis calls, and we’re seeing that through the helpline as well,” Peters said, referring to the office’s addiction helpline. “We usually see people cope with that.”
Kenton County Jailer Marc Fields addressed the problem later in the meeting, discussing an inmate who clearly needed intensive mental health treatment. According to Fields, the state resources that could have helped the man couldn’t even assess him until May. Finally, Fields worked with a judge to get the man transferred to another facility rather than make him wait until next year.
“That just goes to show you how far back it is,” Fields said.
Peters discussed the ways in which the office was building out its infrastructure. There was also a brief discussion of Seth’s law, which was passed in February, which expanded the criteria for who could make medical decisions for another person.
“We are ahead of the state in reporting and having a regional effort, and the health department just got a large grant, partnering with the CDC, to look at changing some of that. The state was able to put some money towards that, working with University of Kentucky, so we can kind of dig in there. One of the reasons they were able to secure that funding was to set a model for the state to use, and so the state has confidence that maybe we can make a difference there,” Peters said to the fiscal court. “But I do understand your frustration.”
NKY residents looking for resources on addiction can call the NKY Office of Drug Control Policy’s helpline at (859) 415-9280.
The next meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kenton County Government Center on Simon Kenton Way in Covington.
