An alarming trend in drug overdoses is impacting task force operations

WASHINGTON — Washington County is on pace for an alarming, unwanted record.

During a news conference Thursday, District Attorney Gene Vittone said there is an impending crisis involving overdose deaths.

“This is entirely preventable and given the proper resources, something we can stop. We have to stop the death toll now,” said Vittone.

Members of the county’s drug task force are obtaining cocaine being sold with fentanyl. That combination is raising the death toll.

After four suspected overdose deaths last weekend, this year’s total has already reached 33 in less than three months.

“As a point of reference, last year at this time I believe we were at 20. At this rate we will easily surpass the worst year we ever had and the number of county residents dying needlessly from overdoses,” said Vittone.

Investigators say drug users don’t know what they’re getting when they make the buy.

In some cases, what’s being sold on the streets as cocaine is actually pure grade fentanyl.

And Vittone said it’s not just showing up in heroin.

“We’re finding these same ingredients in the cocaine supply, and there’s even been some reports of it showing up in marijuana,” he said.

Vittone says the pandemic has not impacted the availability of fentanyl.

“I was told that there is an abundant supply of fentanyl right now, regionally as well as nationally, because it was one of the few substances less affected by COVID.”

The district attorney also made a plea to hire an additional drug task force detective for Washington County to help combat the issue on the streets.

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Cox Media Group