Fentanyl Addiction Statistics in Austin, Texas
Just a few short years ago few people had heard of the synthetic opioid called fentanyl. Today, it's something that everyone in Austin knows about all too well.
At first fentanyl was used to cut heroin and increase the potency. However, fentanyl is now being laced into many non-opioid drugs with devastating fentanyl poisoning effects. It not only heightens the risk of a fentanyl addiction forming, it has also dramatically increased drug overdose deaths in Austin over the last few years.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 801,000 Texans misused opioids in 2022.
- Fentanyl causes more overdose deaths in Austin than any other drug.
- Austin’s fentanyl overdose death rate is about 80% higher than the Texas average.
- 4% of high schoolers in Texas have used prescription opioids, a gateway drug to fentanyl.
- Because of its pharmacology fentanyl addiction can be more difficult to treat compared to other opioid substance use disorders.
The Fentanyl Affect: Powerful Synthetic Opioid That Isn't Detected Until It's Too Late
Fentanyl has become prevalent in the wake of the opioid addiction epidemic. It’s by far and away the most dangerous of the opioid analgesics, a group of medications that are meant to treat patients with chronic or severe pain. Fentanyl’s potency is 50-100 times stronger than morphine, which is why it doesn’t take much for a lethal dose. As little as two milligrams can cause an overdose.
Like other opioids, fentanyl causes respiratory depression that can cause a user to stop breathing. Oxygen is cut off to the brain causing hypoxia that results in a coma or death.
The drug abuse potential is extremely high with fentanyl, just as it is with other opioids. However, because fentanyl is so potent it’s even more addictive than other types of opioids, including heroin.
What may be the most dangerous aspect of fentanyl is its physical characteristics. Fentanyl is odorless and tasteless, which means it can’t be detected by taste, smell, touch or sight. Only special testing strips can detect the presence of fentanyl.
Statistics on Fentanyl Addiction in Austin and Texas
Fentanyl has only become prevalent in the last few years, meaning little data was collected on its use prior to 2022. So much so, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) didn’t specify fentanyl use in its 2021-2022 Survey of Drug Use and Health in Texas.
The survey did report on opioid misuse in general, and unfortunately other data suggests that many of those that misuse prescription opioids, other synthetic opioids and heroin have transitioned to fentanyl use. In the SAMHSA report it was noted that 801,000 Texans misused opioids.
Part of the reason for the transition to fentanyl is accessibility. The opioid epidemic was fueled by an overabundance of prescription opioids. Crackdowns by the Drug Enforcement Administration and changes in the healthcare system led to a 47% decline in opioid prescriptions between 2010 and 2020. It cut off the prescription opioid supply, but fueled the surge in fentanyl as a replacement.
One of the related data points regarding the shift in opioid use comes from the University of Texas at Austin Addiction Research Institute. The institute on drug abuse analyzed data from law enforcement laboratories and found that the presence of fentanyl increased significantly between 2013 and 2019, then spiked dramatically in 2020. At the time, fentanyl was primarily being cut into heroin by drug dealers because it would increase the price. During the same period there was a decline in law enforcement seizures of oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone.
Data on opioid involved overdose deaths also suggest a shift toward fentanyl use. Reports from the Travis County medical examiner’s office show that between 2020 and 2022 there was a 73% decline in non-fentanyl opioid overdoses. At the same time there was a 599% increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths.
However, there is a caveat when using overdose death data to determine intentional fentanyl use. Fentanyl is laced into many other illicit drugs, including fake pills. Often when people consume counterfeit pills and narcotics such as marijuana that have been laced with fentanyl they overdose because they have no tolerance built up by prior opioid use. These cases require lengthy investigations that reveal many overdose deaths are due to unintentional fentanyl use.
Fentanyl Overdose Statistics
Nothing paints a clearer picture of the troubling fentanyl epidemic in Austin than overdose death statistics. In 2018 just 4% of all overdoses in Austin involved fentanyl. By 2021 that number had skyrocketed to 36%. Using data from death certificates, the Travis County medical examiner’s office determined that in 2021 there were 35 overdose deaths related to fentanyl use. Just a year later the number had risen to 123 deaths. Then in 2023, 245 drug overdose deaths were attributed to fentanyl. Currently, fentanyl accounts for over 77% of all opioid overdose deaths.
The 600% increase in fentanyl overdose deaths in just two years is startling. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of the deaths were due to fentanyl being laced into other drugs, including what people believed to be prescription medications.
Looking at statewide data, the situation isn’t any better. Across Texas fentanyl overdose deaths have gone from 44 deaths in 2011 to 2,306 in 2023. Travis County ranks third in the state for the number of deaths involving fentanyl with a rate of 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people. This is nearly double the state average of 8.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
One piece of good news is that the preliminary numbers from 2024 point to a decline in fentanyl overdose deaths compared to the previous two years. The Texas Department of State Health Services found that across the state fentanyl drug overdose deaths declined from 2,363 deaths in 2022/2023 to 1,925 in 2023/2024.
However, the decline is primarily attributed to the distribution of naloxone kits, not a decline in use.
Fentanyl Use Disorder Among Teens in Austin, TX
Currently, we have very limited data on fentanyl use among teens and college students in Texas. The most recent Texas School Survey of Drugs & Alcohol Use and Texas College Survey of Substance Use did not inquire about fentanyl in particular. Only heroin use was included in the survey, which found over 99% of teens and college students had never used heroin. However, 4% of high schoolers reported using hydrocodone or oxycodone, and 4.7% of college students reported using non-heroin narcotics.
New data that has been gathered over the last few years will shed more light on the prevalence of fentanyl use in younger age groups in Texas.
Getting Support and Treatment for Fentanyl Addiction
Treating fentanyl can be particularly challenging not just because it’s a powerful synthetic opioid that’s highly addictive. Fentanyl tends to take longer to clear out of a person’s system, which has been found to impede methadone or buprenorphine medications that are used to treat opioid substance use disorder. Withdrawal symptoms that can begin within hours also make treatment challenging.
Despite the challenges, fentanyl treatment is possible with the help of professionals and medically assisted treatments (MAT). However, that is only one piece of the puzzle. Long-term recovery requires extensive treatment and support.
Men in the Austin area who are struggling with fentanyl addiction can find the support they need at Any Length Retreat. Our unique approach to addiction treatment gives men the tools they need to rebuild their lives after addiction and provides a supportive community to lean on.
You can contact our team at any time to inquire about our programs and learn more about how we help men overcome fentanyl addiction.
*Any Length Retreat is a supportive, educational recovery system and community. It is not a substitute for psychotherapy, clinical, or medical treatment for substance use disorders or mental health disorders.
