Drug overdose deaths in Pennsylvania jumped more than 23 percent last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported Tuesday, by far the biggest increase in at least a decade and a sign that the addiction epidemic remains out of control.
An analysis of drug-related fatalities by the DEA's Philadelphia Field Division found a continuing rise in deaths involving heroin along with an astonishing increase - up 93 percent in one year - in the presence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It also found a resurgence in cocaine, which was up 41 percent in people who died of drug use. In most cases, people had multiple types of drugs in their bodies, coroners found, so it's not always possible to blame one substance.
"The nation and the commonwealth are in the throes of the worst drug epidemic in the country's history," Gary Tuggle, special agent in charge of the Philadelphia division, said at a news conference.
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