Jul 12, 2016 3 min read

The number of fatal drug overdoses in Washington and Greene Counties skyrocketed over the past year, putting both of them in the top 10 counties in Pennsylvania for overdoses per 100,000 people, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report released Monday.

Greene County was listed as number five in the state per population size, increasing from 2014’s nine drug overdose deaths to 14 deaths in 2015. Washington County ranked ninth in the state for its population and nearly doubled the amount of overdoses, from 37 in 2014 to 73 last year.

“We’re certainly not proud of that Top Ten,” said Washington County Coroner Tim Warco, who added there have already been close to 40 overdoses in his county so far this year.

The DEA report focused on the 3,383 reported drug-related overdose deaths that occurred last year in 65 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Figures from Warren and Cameron counties were not included.

Locally, in Washington and Greene counties, the drugs most commonly found in the victims’ bodies were heroin and fentanyl, which is an opioid that’s 80 to 200 times as potent as morphine, according to the report.

Of the 73 overdoses in Washington County, 62 percent involved heroin, 36 percent involved Oxycodone, 30 percent of them involved fentanyl and 27 percent involved cocaine. Greene County’s 14 overdoses were primarily related to heroin and fentanyl, each of which was 21 percent of the total.

“I’m not surprised at all with these numbers,” said Christine Gardner, Greene County court assistant for community prevention and education. “This addiction problem didn’t happen overnight. It’s not a secret anymore that this has exploded in such a huge way.”

In Greene County, 57 percent of the victims were men and 43 percent were women. All of them were white and the median age was 41.

In Washington County, 67 percent were men and 34 percent were women and their median age was 38. About 36 percent were white, while the race for the other 64 percent of victims was listed as “unknown.”

According to the analysis, Washington County saw a 272 percent increase in the presence of fentanyl in overdose victims, and the county’s cocaine-related overdoses increased by 238 percent from 2014 to 2015. Greene County percentages for fentanyl and cocaine usage increases were not included in the report.

Statewide, the fentanyl presence in overdoses rose by 93 percent and cocaine rose by 41 percent, the report said. Overall, the state’s drug overdose deaths rose by 23 percent, from 2014 to 2015. Heroin was the most frequently identified drug, at 55 percent, and fentanyl was second, at 27 percent.

Dennis Paluso, Washington County’s first assistant district attorney, said the numbers would have been even worse without the use of naloxone, an antidote to reverse potentially fatal opioid overdoses.

“The numbers would be much higher without the widespread use of Narcan by first responders,” he said.

Paluso said he doesn’t foresee the number of overdoses decreasing anytime soon.

“Sure there are success stories, but it’s not an easy disease to overcome,” he said. “Our continued approach is to continue to prosecute the dealers, to treat the addicts and to educate the public on addiction.”

Warco said, like his office, every coroner’s office across the state is dealing with the heroin epidemic.

“We see what it does to families and to parents who just have nowhere to turn in dealing with it,” he said. “The addiction problem touches everyone.”