City sees spike in drug overdoses

On Thursday, the City of Minneapolis responded to several overdose calls in less than 24 hours. Three people died in separate incidents. According to emergency response records, the City responds to an average of eight overdose incidents each day.

In the first seven days of October, there have been 55 drug overdoses in Minneapolis. In 2021, the City experienced 2,283 overdoses with 197 deaths. For 2022, there have been 2,113 overdoses so far. Preliminary vital statistic data for January-early August 2022 shows that 108 people have died because of drug overdoses. The upsurge in drug use and overdoses is a public health and public safety concern.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that two thirds of more than 108,000 overdose deaths in the United States during the 12 months ending in April 2022 involved synthetic opioids, including illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

The City is increasing awareness efforts of the prevalence of drug abuse through several departments and working with Hennepin County and state partners to connect people who use opioids or their families to prevention and treatment resources.

More information on the City's opioid response and resources is available on the Minneapolis Health Department's opioid webpage.