DEA: More Than 5,000 Drug-Related Overdose Deaths Reported In Pennsylvania In 2017

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Officials in Pennsylvania say more than 5,000 people died of drug-related overdoses in the state last year.

Roughly 5,456 drug-related overdose deaths were reported by coroners and medical examiners in Pennsylvania for 2017.

The number represents a rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 people and a 64 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2015 to 2017.

In a report to be released next month, the Drug Enforcement Administration will share a comprehensive assessment of the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania, including key findings that heroin sourced from Mexican transnational criminal organizations presents a persistent and pervasive drug threat in Pennsylvania.

According to the DEA, the presence of fentanyl was noted in more than 67 percent of drug-related overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2017.