Kentucky drug overdose deaths up 11.5 percent

There are new, alarming numbers on the growing number of drug overdose deaths in Kentucky. 

According to a report issued by the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, fatal overdoses totaled over 1,500 last year, which is an 11.5% increase over the previous year.

Another headline out of the report shows the drug, fentanyl, was a factor in approximately 52% of the toxicology cases, up 47% from 2016.

According to the study, the number of heroin overdoses are down throughout the state.

Tommy Loving, the director of the Warren County Drug Task Force, has a theory on why that is. 

"A good number of the fentanyl overdose victims probably thought they were using heroin in one variety of another. It was either laced with fentanyl or fentanyl was substituted for heroin because it’s a much cheaper product," said Loving.

Loving says very few fentanyl related overdoses have occurred in Warren County. 

A majority of the overdose deaths in 2017 occurred in Jefferson County.