The past year has seen a dramatic increase in overdoses in the county, according to the prosecutor who handles most of the county drug task force cases brought before the court.

“Reported overdoses have spiked recently and law enforcement has seen the reported number of overdoses quadruple in 2023,” Warren County First Assistant District Attorney Cody Brown said. “The drug task force is working closely with local, state and federal agencies not only to arrest local dealers, but target the sources in nearby cities and at the border.”

A major contributor to the increased overdoses is a spike in the amount of drugs containing fentanyl being introduced into the community. Fentanyl can cause overdoses in extremely small doses and is being incorporated into other drugs because it is cheap and easy to synthesize.

“Most of the drug supply is polluted,” Family Services of Warren County Director of Substance Abuse Services Andrew Cauley. “It’s just easier to synthesize than bringing in organic opioids such as heroin. Now it’s polluting the stimulant supply. People are using recreationally and they just have no tolerance to opiates and they’re overdosing as well.”

Brown also cited the drug as a major factor saying, “Fentanyl has quickly become the prevalent drug in the county, overtaking methamphetamine within the course of months.”

On the law enforcement end, there has been a concentrated effort to target the issue.

“Along with the efforts of local and state law enforcement, the Warren County District Attorney’s Office has been aggressively taking steps to not only prosecute individuals who bring drugs into our community, but also those who deliver them to individuals that cause their deaths,” Brown said.

“When an overdose is reported, Chief County Detective Thomas Kibbey, along with other police agencies and medical personnel, respond to the scene in efforts to save the individual’s life. They also act quickly in attempting to locate and arrest individuals involved in the delivery of this poison. We have been able to combat this drug epidemic by arresting numerous individuals who were delivering fentanyl laced drugs in our neighborhoods.”

Brown noted the office prosecuted two cases which included charges of drug delivery resulting in death this year. According to him, only three such cases had been prosecuted in the entire previous decade. One of those cases resulted in a state prison sentence of up to two years for a Youngsville woman. The other resulted in a county sentence of up to 15 months for a Warren man.

Outside of law enforcement, efforts are being made to reduce the amount of fatal overdoses.

Family Services has been distributing Naloxone and drug testing kits for free.

Naloxone, the active ingredient in formulas such as Narcan and Kloxxado, is an opioid antagonist that can block the effects of drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.

“We’re getting some intervention tools in the community,” Cauley said.

“It isn’t the addict that necessarily needs Narcan, because they can’t necessarily use it on themselves,” Family Services Executive Director Kim Holt said. “It needs to be in the hands of as many people as possible.”

The state is also working to distribute test strips and naloxone for free through registered Pennsylvania Overdose Prevention Program entities. Supplies through the state program are not paid for with tax dollars., but come from funds received from opioid settlements, such as those with pharmaceutical companies.