ST. PAUL, MN (KDAL) – After several years of sharp increases, the number of drug overdose deaths in Minnesota leveled off in 2022.
Statistics from the Minnesota Department of Health show that 1,343 residents died from a drug overdose in 2022, eleven fewer than in 2021.
Those numbers far exceed the 486 overdose deaths recorded ten years ago.
The preliminary data shows that fentanyl related overdoses are keeping deaths at historically high levels in the state.
Fentanyl, more deadly and 50 times more potent than heroin, is involved in 92 percent of opioid deaths and 62 percent of all overdose deaths in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, figures show that deaths involving prescribed opioids, heroin and methadone decreased while cocaine involved deaths saw the largest increase of any drug category.
