BUFFALO, N.Y. — A substance once normalized as a party drug is now the leading cause of death in Western New York’s opioid epidemic this year.
New numbers from the Erie County Department of Health show there have been 245 opioid-related deaths in the first seven months of 2023, putting the county on pace to exceed last year’s 307 total deaths by the end of next month.
Cheryll Moore is the county’s opioid program director. She says since the COVID-19 pandemic, fentanyl has infiltrated the cocaine market — leading to 81% of the county’s overdose deaths this year.
“People are really being poisoned,” she said. “This person really is not seeking an opioid. They are seeking something completely different. This is not the person we talk to every day. It's sporadic, and they're blindsided.”
Brandy Vandermark-Murray is the president of Horizon Health, the largest provider of outpatient substance-related treatments in Western New York. She has been fighting this epidemic from the front lines for the past 15 years.
According to Vandermark-Murray, Horizon Health is seeing 200-300 patients arrive each day at each of their 13 locations.
The area where she says they’ve recently had to focus most of their efforts is cocaine.
“Many of those individuals who were using cocaine probably were not aware at all that fentanyl was in there,” Vandermark-Murray said. “They may minimize their substance use thinking it's not that big of a deal. ‘I previously used cocaine before I didn't have a consequence.’”
Now those on the front lines are tasked with the challenge of changing the perception of a drug once known for just a good time.
“A lot of people come in and say I never thought this would happen to my family,” Vandermark-Murray said. “I never thought this would happen to a friend. I want people to have an increased awareness that while you might not be an imminent risk right now, the risk is to our community.”
Congressman Brian Higgins also announced the introduction of the Opioid Treatment Providers Act Tuesday in an effort to provide funding for organizations like Horizon Health, which are working with low-income individuals and dealing with this crisis head-on day after day. The Act expands the Health Professions Opportunity Grant program to include providers treating those with Opioid Use Disorder.