Nashua And Manchester See Increases In Drug Overdoses In 2021

NASHUA, NH — Nashua, and Manchester continue to see opioid overdoses and deaths trend upwards — including the highest levels that hvae occurred since 2018.

Christopher Stawasz, Northeast Director of Government affairs for AMR Ambulance, said is a challenge for first responders who are seeing the cause mostly related to the amount of fentanyl that is being mixed with other drugs. Previously, fentanyl was frequently seen mixed with heroin. But now, first responders and police are seeing it mixed with cocaine and marijuana, as well as other drugs that have been laced with fentanyl.

AMR the provider of ambulance and EMS services to the Nashua and Manchester has tracked statistics since the beginning of the opioid epidemic.

The totals outlined by AMR show that in 2021 Nashua had a total of 285 overdoses, an increase of 38 percent over the previous year. 30 people appear to have died from overdoses in Nashua which is a 36 percent increase in deaths over the prior year.

In 2021, Manchester responded to 570 overdoses, a 38 percent increase from the prior year, and 51 deaths which were up 31 percent from the prior year.

The most recent data available shows this year in January Manchester and Nashua had a combined increase of 13 percent over the previous month. Nashua had 31 overdoses, a 15 percent increase over the previous month and five deaths. Manchester had 64 overdoses, an 8 percent increase over the prior month and there were four deaths that appear to be caused by the overdose.

The increase of Narcan being readily available in 2021 led to 17 percent of the patients in Nashua receiving Narcan before responders arrived, and 33 percent of patients in Manchester.

According to the data, 50 percent of the patients AMR encountered in Nashua and Manchester were their first encounters, 49% were repeated encounters, and 1 percent were unknown.

The best way to seek recovery help in New Hampshire is to call 211. The caller will be connected to one of the nine strategically located doorways across the state who offer access to every level of treatment.