DRUG DEATHS RISING

There were two deaths attributed to opiates in 1992 in Lackawanna
County, according to county coroner records. By 1997, 12 drug-related
deaths involved some form of an opiate.

Of those 12 deaths, only one involved a prescription opiate, while
the rest involved either heroin or morphine.

Now, in most drug overdose deaths, a combination of drugs or alcohol
is found in the system. Of the 39 deaths in 2002, for example, 35
involved some form of opiate, including heroin, morphine, oxycodone,
fentanyl and methadone. Four of those deaths were related to
oxycodone and three were attributed to fentanyl, said Michael Coyer,
the toxicologist for Lackawanna County.

In 2006, the latest year for which numbers were available, there were
37 opiate-related deaths.

In Luzerne County, records itemizing the types of drugs involved in
overdose deaths only go back to 2002. That year, there were 62
drug-related deaths in the county, and of those, nine were heroin overdoses.

In 2006, there were 45 drug deaths in Luzerne County. Of those, 15
involved some form of opiate.

In both Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, record-keeping was spotty
for years for several reasons, including drugs that may once have not
been tested for and staff changes.