HARDIN COUNTY, Ky. — As fentanyl claims the lives of thousands across the country, morgues are trying to make space for the number of overdoses.
Hardin County Deputy Coroner Shana Norton said fentanyl deaths are adding to an already crowded morgue.
According to Kentucky's Office of Drug Control Policy, overdose deaths increased by 15% since 2020.
Norton said so far, Hardin County has 37 confirmed overdoses in 2021 with 95% of those cases are fentanyl related.
"We're close to passing 2020's overdose total for the year, and you know, we're only half way through," she said.
Norton conducts several tests to see which drug caused a person's death. She said many cases are people who were unaware they even took a drug with fentanyl in it.
"It's all the pills that have been pressed by the drug companies and drug dealers making it to be something that it's not. And a lot of families say they got a Xanax or a Percocet from somebody, and when we get their toxicology, it's not a Xanax or a Percocet. It's straight fentanyl," Norton said.
Norton said if you choose to take drugs, you should test them first.
You can pick up a fentanyl test strip at your local health department.
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