The Ithaca Police and Fire Departments responded to two suspected overdoses on Eddy Street just before 1 AM Friday morning, with a caller suggesting the victims having ingested “laced cocaine.”
Officers responding to the scene administered two doses of Narcan per individual, with one officer fully exhausting his supply. The Ithaca Fire Department assisted with a sweep of the building to locate other potential victims.
Overdose victims using cocaine are typically not aware that it contained fentanyl. According to the DEA, in 2018 there was a 112% increase in samples of cocaine which contained fentanyl, with the drug causing 57% of all fatal overdoses in New York City. Less than 1% of the cocaine samples tested by the DEA in 2016 contained synthetic opioids. By 2020, it was up to 3.3%.
Mass overdoses have become an issue nation wide, with Fentanyl being the consistent culprit. Recently five West Point cadets nearly died due to cocaine adulterated with Fentanyl. Yesterday the city of San Francisco issued a “dire warning” after a spike in fentanyl overdoses among cocaine users.
Approximately 80% of overdose deaths involve opioids, with three out of of four opioid overdose deaths involved illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Illicitly manufactured Fentanyl is produced in large quantities by drug cartels, with Fentanyl being utilized as a cutting agent in cocaine alongside immunosuppressant deworming agent Levamisole.
There has been a push nationally and in New York state to make Fentanyl test strips available to drug users, though it is unclear if they are available locally. It is recommended that anyone consuming street drugs exercise extreme caution and be aware of the increasing risk of adulteration in the drug supply.