Chicago-area medical examiner’s data shows 90% of 2023 opioid overdoses involved drug pouring in across border

Data collected by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Illinois shows 90% of the opioid overdoses last year involved fentanyl, which the Centers for Disease Control says has been plaguing the U.S. for years.

Chicago, which is in Cook County, recorded 2,001 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, more than three times as many as were recorded during the seven years prior.

Health officials expect the number of opioid overdose deaths in Cook County in 2023 to match the record number set in 2022.

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Hundreds of toxicology tests are still pending for 2023, yet county officials have confirmed 1,540 opioid deaths so far for the year.

Of the 1,540 opioid deaths, 90% involved fentanyl.

The medical examiner’s office said it expects over 400 of the pending toxicology tests will come back as overdoses.

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In its report, the medical examiner’s office said 80% of the opioid toxicology cases confirmed to this point are male.

It also said 56% of the deaths were African Americans, while Whites constituted 27% and Latinos accounted for just under 15%.

The age group most impacted by opioid deaths were between 50-59 years old, accounting for about 27%.

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The youngest opioid overdose in Cook County last year was an 8-month-old boy from Chicago, while the oldest was a 93-year-old woman from Arlington Heights.

In December, a report from the Senate sounded the alarm about a surge in deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl among Americans.

The report, “The Silent Epidemic: Fentanyl and Older Americans,” looks at the increase in overdose deaths among older Americans.

Over the last two years, the report claims, overdose deaths quadrupled for Americans ages 65 and older, and there was increasing evidence that synthetic drugs like fentanyl are adding to the number of fatalities.

 

Fentanyl deaths have been plaguing the U.S. for years, with tens of thousands of deaths a year. Of the over 107,000 overdose deaths in 2021, 75% involved an opioid, according to the CDC.

The Biden administration has touted efforts to crack down on the fentanyl crisis, including investments in technology, recovery, prevention and greater cooperation with other countries to stop smuggling.

But December 2023 saw at least 302,000 illegal border crossings, a record for a monthly total and one of many months that have broken records during Biden’s tenure. 

Fentanyl, according to the DEA, is chiefly made of chemicals that are manufactured in China and come into the US across the border with Mexico before being moved across the country. 

In September 2023, Border Patrol announced it had seized enough fentanyl in that fiscal year to kill the entire United States population. 

Adam Shaw of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.