Report shows record number of drug overdose deaths

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

A medical examiner has reported a record number of fatal drug overdoses for a Northeast Ohio county.

The preliminary report released Monday by Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson shows the total number of overdose deaths in the county that includes Cleveland rose to 727 in 2017.

That compares with 666 overdose deaths the previous year.

The total number of fatal overdoses includes deaths from prescription drugs as well as from other drugs.

But Gilson noted the rate of increase in overdose deaths did slow from 80 percent between 2015 and 2016 to 9 percent between 2016 and 2017.