Medical examiner: fentanyl now dominant contributor in DeKalb drug deaths; office seeks sustained funding for testing and data tools

The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office reported roughly 2,300 deaths reported to the office last year and a little over 200 toxicology-related deaths, with fentanyl implicated in a large share of opioid fatalities.

The medical examiner's representative told the Board that of the approximately 200 drug-related deaths in the previous year, 114 were opioid-related and 107 of those were fentanyl-specific. The office said fentanyl has displaced prescription opioids and heroin as the leading cause of opioid deaths and that an increasing number of deaths involve fentanyl mixed with stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine.

The medical examiner's representative said toxicology cases generally require an examination and therefore make up a substantial share of cases the office investigates. The office also presented demographic breakdowns and county heat maps, noting concentrated clusters of overdose deaths in parts of the county and that Black males represented the highest-rate demographic group in DeKalb's drug-related deaths.

Why it matters: Fentanyl's potency makes even small amounts highly lethal, and mixtures with stimulants complicate treatment and public-health response. The medical examiner urged better data collection and faster, more…