Drug Overdoses On The Rise in Oklahoma

Meth and fentanyl account for the cause of the most overdoses in Oklahoma in the last year, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

There were 737 overdoses of meth and 619 overdoses of fentanyl in the last calendar year. The number of meth overdoses in the state has doubled compared to 2018, and the number of fentanyl overdoses is 16 times more than what it was a few years ago.

Mark Woodward with the OBN said much of the meth in the state is coming from Mexican drug cartels.

"15 years ago, they started moving five or 10 pounds at a time. Now, we're seeing loads as much as 100, 250 pounds at a time," Woodward said.

The OBN said last year there were 1,265 total overdose deaths in Oklahoma, 260 more than the year before.