Narcotics Agents: Oklahoma On Track To Set New Record For Overdose Deaths

More Oklahomans than ever are dying from drug overdoses.

Marc Woodward with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said there are always some ups and downs when it comes to drug overdose data. But one drug in particular is up -- way up.

“Fentanyl is also climbing at a rapid rate. In fact, faster than any other drug category," he said.

Meth is still Oklahoma's number one overdose killer, contributing to many of the state's total overdose deaths from 2011 to 2021.

But nearly a third of deaths last year were caused by fentanyl and this year could be worse.

"299 last year and we’re on pace to surpass that this year," Woodward said.

Woodward said new laws regulating opioids over the last few years have cut their over-availability and reduced prescription abuse deaths, but that's brought in a new set of problems.

“As a result of these victories when it comes to prescription drug access and overdoses, we’ve sent a lot of these opioid addicts to the street to feed their addiction," he said.

And at an ever-increasing rate, going to the streets means fentanyl, whether buyers know it or not.

"The majority of the overdose deaths linked to fentanyl are often these blue M30 counterfeits that look side-by-side just like US oxycodone," Woodward said.

Woodward said these overdose numbers could actually be severely undercounted, for good reason, because of increased availability for police and citizens for the overdose-reversing drug Narcan.

“We know that as scary as these fentanyl deaths and overdose numbers are, they could be potentially five to ten times higher had it not been for Narcan," Woodward said.

Agents said the fentanyl problem is everywhere.

Last week, federal agents shut down a fentanyl and fake Xanax pill-manufacturing operation in Tulsa, which they said distributed 10,000 to 40,000 pills per week throughout the state and elsewhere.