Springfield sees the growth of accidental overdoses, despite the decline of fentanel

Springfield, Ill (WICS) – The accidental overdoses in Sangamon County reached a record number, despite the decrease of the deaths related to Fentanil, according to the Coroner in Sangamon County, Jim Allmon.

In 2024, the county registered 90 accidental overdoses, increasing compared to 82 year before, continuing a constant increase of 2020. However, overdose related to fentanil decreased, by 51% of deaths in 2024, compared with 62% in 2023.

“It’s because of methamphetamine,” Allmon said. “We have noticed an increased increase in methamphetamine poisoning in our county.”

Crisis fighting efforts include Narcan kits to be widely available and state legislation that requires fentanyl test strips. Allmon stressed the importance of these measures, stating: “Save lives. I can not imagine where the county of Sangamon would be with our numbers if Narcan would not be available. ”

Despite these efforts, accidental deaths continue to grow annually. Allmon expressed uncertainty about the effectiveness of current strategies, saying: “This is a good question, the answer is that I do not know, but we do everything we can and we will continue to scream from the roofs we have a problem and we will Ensures that we do not miss any possible overdoses, so that we can report precise numbers. ”

Allmon has attributed a part of the problem of online drug purchase, where buyers are not often aware of the substances they purchase. “If you buy illicit drugs, you won’t know what you get,” he said. “Some of these children who think they buy xanax bars on the Internet, these things test positive for 100%fentanel.”

In the neighboring Macon, the deaths by overdose decreased slightly from 23 to 2023 to 20 in 2024, with 15 of these deaths related to fentanel every year.

The coroner of Macon County, Michael Burkham, mentioned that many overdoses every day, receive a narcan and these cases are not reported.

Allmon added that Narcan works only for opioids, not methamphetamine, a growing medicine in Sangamon County.