Overdose deaths decrease dramatically in N.H.’s largest cities
CONCORD, N.H. — Overdose deaths in New Hampshire’s two largest cities are on the decline, according to the latest data released by the ambulance company American Medical Response.
Nashua saw a 46 percent decrease in suspected overdoses from opioids in January compared to the last 12month average, while Manchester saw an even greater decrease of 56 percent, according to AMR, which provides ambulance services in the two cities. Last month, there were two opioid overdose deaths in Nashua and five in Manchester.
When the opioid crisis hit the state in 2015, AMR was inundated, according to Chris Stawasz, the company’s regional director of government affairs.
“We became overwhelmed in 2015, 2016, and decided to start tracking the number of overdoses we were going on, so we could see the resources we were spending and come up with a way to address it,” Stawasz said.
Since then, the substances on the street have evolved: First, AMR was responding to people smoking “spice,” a kind of synthetic marijuana. Then it was heroin, and now fentanyl dominates, according to Stawasz. Fentanyl is now even being mixed into marijuana, catching users unaware, he said.
Stawasz said responders no longer see overdoses related to prescription drugs, pointing to laws requiring increased monitoring of such medicines.
So what’s causing the decrease in opioid overdoses and deaths? It’s hard to pinpoint what is driving the severalmonth trend, Stawasz said.
“I’d like to think the efforts everyone has been putting in for so long have been paying off,” he said, noting there hasn’t been a sea change in terms of the amount of fentanyl available or the number of available rehabilitation centers.
Stawasz pointed out that naloxone, the reverse opioid overdose treatment often known by its brand name Narcan, is “available everywhere” now, which helps people survive an overdose.
But, he said, it’s too soon to declare an end to the opioid crisis. Just one batch of potent fentanyl can cause an increase in overdoses. Last year, for example, Manchester saw a spike of seven deaths in just 48 hours.
“Those things can change literally overnight,” he said.