The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy reported a statewide increase in overdose deaths for the third consecutive year, and fatal overdoses are on the rise locally.

The 2021 Overdose Fatality Report, which was released last week, said there were 2,250 overdose deaths in the state last year, compared to 1,964 in 2020 and 1,316 in 2019.

Warren County’s overdose deaths went up over that time period as well, from 21 in 2019, to 25 in 2020 and up to 36 last year.

Warren County had the ninth-highest number of fatal overdoses among Kentucky counties in 2021.

The annual report identified an increase of fentanyl and its analogs in the drug supply and interruptions to daily life brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as the most significant factors contributing to the increase in overdoses.

Fentanyl was identified through toxicology reports in 1,639 drug overdose deaths last year, representing 72.8% of the total deadly overdoses.

In terms of both raw numbers and the percentage of all overdoses, fentanyl’s role in fatal overdoses grew last year.

Methamphetamine was found in 1,075 drug overdose deaths in 2021, representing 47.8% of all fatal overdoses in Kentucky last year.

David Duncan, program director at Park Place Recovery Center for Men, said cheaply available fentanyl and the ongoing pandemic have created a “perfect storm” for people struggling with addiction.

The state Office of Drug Control Policy said indirect effects of the pandemic – including isolation, economic concerns and other things brought about by interruptions related to the virus – have a detrimental effect on those struggling with recovery.

Duncan agreed with that assessment.

“Having the 12-step meetings is such a fellowship, a great way to have new friends and change your life, get involved with different people and work on yourself,” Duncan said. “Isolation is the worst thing that can happen to a person in recovery. They need the meetings, they need the contact and connection with people. … The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it’s connection, getting connected with people, with a job, with a church. When you’re isolated and you’re not connecting with anything, that’s when we have a high rate of relapse.”

Park Place is a 16-bed inpatient treatment facility that is part of LifeSkills, and many of the clients are referred there from court.

Duncan said the facility has weathered three COVID-19 outbreaks and has been able to quarantine some clients in apartments that LifeSkills holds, but that can be risky for those in a fragile state of recovery.

“With some people we brought them food and assignments and tried to work with them the best we could, we just tried to help them through it and get them back into treatment,” Duncan said. “Some wanted to go home to recuperate and a lot of times we do not see them come back. … (COVID) has just been kind of a different animal to deal with, which is so devastating to the recovery community.”

Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force Director Tommy Loving said fentanyl appears to be making notable inroads into the local supply of illegal drugs.

“Last year, particularly, we saw a significant increase in both fentanyl seizures and cases and we continue to see that this year,” Loving said. “I would say at this point fentanyl and meth are the two squeaking wheels, but the fentanyl is more dangerous.”

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identifies fentanyl as a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine.

The substance can prove fatal in small amounts and is often added to heroin to increase its potency or is disguised in other drugs, causing deaths for people taking fentanyl who believe they are using another substance.

Loving said the drug task force seized more than 6,000 tablets last year that appeared to be prescription pills complete with stamped markings but were actually counterfeits made with fentanyl.

“We can say we saved some overdose deaths by doing that, but with the amount flowing over the border and coming into the country, we can’t get it all, even though we try,” Loving said.

Police said meth and fentanyl found in the drug supply is commonly manufactured in so-called superlabs based in Mexico and then smuggled across the border.

Increasingly, local investigations of overdose deaths have resulted in prosecutions of people alleged to have supplied the drugs that contributed to the death.

Kentucky’s second-degree manslaughter statute was amended in 2019 to allow that charge to be brought against a person who unlawfully distributes certain controlled substances and one of those substances is the proximate cause of another person’s death.

“For a long time, the thought of being able to prosecute a supplier for a homicide charge in an overdose death was like trying to pound a square peg into a round hole,” Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron said. “There really wasn’t the statutory framework to do it until a couple of years ago.”

Convictions were obtained against three people who were charged in Warren County in connection with a pair of fatal overdoses in 2019.

Multiple cases are pending in Warren Circuit Court involving people charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with allegedly supplying drugs to users who died from overdosing.

“While the primary purpose is to bring justice to the victims’ families, also encompassed in these investigations you find multiple layers in drug trafficking organizations and you’re able to have significant prosecution on multiple levels when you have these type of cases,” Cohron said.

When new agents cycle into the drug task force, Loving has them take a three-day course taught by Lt. Josh Shaffer of the Knoxville, Tenn., Police Department that takes police officers through the many facets of a drug-related death investigation.

Shaffer said officers who take the course learn about how different drugs affect the body, how to gather evidence in an overdose investigation and how to build a prosecutable case when it comes to charging drug suppliers following a fatal overdose and present the case in court.

“Even if you’re the best investigator, unfortunately, not every (overdose death) is solvable,” Shaffer said. “You may not always have the proof, you may not get to the point where we can say ‘you caused this person’s death,’ but it still gives investigators targets to build traditional drug cases on.”

State officials have been funding resources to increase access to treatment options.

A federal grant announced in February has enabled the state and the University of Kentucky to administer Narcan, a brand name for the medicine naloxone that can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose, in eight counties at no cost. The program will expand to another eight counties this summer, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

Legislation passed this year led to the creation of the Advisory Council for Recovery Ready Communities within the Office of Drug Control Policy.

The council will partner with Volunteers of America to create Recovery Ready Communities. Participating cities and counties receive certification that enables them to apply for transportation, support groups, recovery meetings and employment services that people seeking treatment for addiction can access at no cost.

The Office of Drug Control Policy estimates that by the end of 2021, more than $69 million in grant funding will have been awarded in the past three years to programs that provide treatment and recovery services, along with employment and job training to people in recovery.

“This new funding has expanded the ability of Office of Drug Control Policy to address the heart of the issue,” Office of Drug Control Policy Executive Director Van Ingram said in a news release. “This is not just a matter of getting drugs off the street. Addiction is a mental health issue, as well, and we are working to make sure that it is treated as such.”

– Information about available space in treatment programs and providers can be found at findhelpnowky.org.

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.