IS NOTHING SACRED? –

Jan. 21, 2120 – 2020 was the deadliest year ever for overdoses in Philadelphia. The surge is being fueled by deaths among methamphetamine and PCP users. The city’s top substance abuse official said fentanyl is now prevalent in illegal drug sales in many neighborhoods.

“Until recently…most drug sales involving fentanyl were occurring in Kensington and South Philadelphia. We focused most of our outreach efforts on a subpopulation of drug users in two specific geographic regions,” Dr. Kendra Viner, director of the Health Department’s Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction division said. “Now fentanyl is in everything and everyone who obtains drugs from an illicit source is potentially at risk.” The Philadelphia Health Department will begin a public awareness campaign in early 2021 that utilizes mass media outlets to get the word out about the high risk of fentanyl in illegal drugs, and the city will continue to distribute naloxone.

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