Fentanyl now in 70% of street drugs and overdose deaths on the rise, coroner's office says

LAFAYETTE PARISH, La. (KLFY)-- Fentanyl is now in 70 percent of street drugs, according to the Lafayette Parish Coroner's Office. Statistics also show a steady increase in fentanyl overdose deaths since 2015.

Already this year, nearly 30 people have died in Lafayette Parish alone. In 2015, fentanyl deaths were at zero in Lafayette Parish. The fentanyl overdose deaths have slowly but surely spiking year after year, with only an exception in 2023.

2015	32 Overdose Deaths, 0 Contained Fentanyl
2019	55 Overdose Deaths, 25 Contained Fentanyl
2020	83 Overdose Deaths, 50 Contained Fentanyl
2021	137 Overdose Deaths, 101 Contained Fentanyl
2022	148 Overdose Deaths, 114 Contained Fentanyl
2023	108 Overdose Deaths, 66 Contained Fentanyl
Jan-April 2024	33 Overdose Deaths So Far, 28 Contained Fentanyl

"It's here in Lafayette, and it's not going away," Keith Talamo, Chief Medicolegal Death Investigator, said. "70% of drugs taken off the street contain fentanyl. This is fake pills made to look like Adderall, Xanax, OxyContin, Percocet, cocaine, methamphetamines."

"People are selling it as cocaine, but it's fentanyl and baby powder, sold as another substance. Fentanyl in baby laxatives, sold as another substance," he added.

Talamo said fentanyl only takes three grains, equivalent to the size of salt, to kill.

"You can't see it. You can't smell it. You don't know it's there," he added.

It's a problem that hasn't been around for very long.

"An overdose for be used to be prolonged drug abuse makes your heart give out. Now we're seeing first-time users, we're seeing experimental users. We're seeing people who have been doing drugs for a while," Talamo said.

Talamo explained people younger and younger are dying. He said a partial reason is that cocaine and MDMA making big comebacks for college-aged adults.

"Now fentanyl is in these drugs. It's a whole new world," he told News 10.

He added that fentanyl can touch anyone: young or old, black or white, and rich or poor.

"It's everybody. I've been to million-dollar houses, and I've pulled people out of ditches," Talamo added.

The best advice he has is for parents.

"The easiest thing for a parent to say is, 'My kid won't do it, not my kid.' The hardest thing for a parent to say when something happened to your kid is, 'Why didn't I?' Talamo said. "Don't ever, ever think your kids not going to do it. Assume that your kids are doing it."

News 10 also got statistics for fentanyl-related deaths in Iberia Parish from the coroner's office. It shows the same pattern exists in parishes across Acadiana.

2015	0 Deaths
2016	1 Death
2017	0 Deaths
2018	3 Deaths
2019	4 Deaths
2020	5 Deaths
2021	12 Deaths
2022	21 Deaths
2023	11 Deaths
2024 Jan-May 9	1 Death Thus Far

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