Healing the Mind, Body, & Spirit

7,000 cases were investigated, a 16 percent increase over 2020, partially driven by 227 drug-related deaths, a 22 percent increase from 2020. Notably, those drug deaths included more than double the accidental fentanyl deaths from 47 in 2020 to 99 in 2021, which continues “a doubling trend that started in 2017,” El Paso County Public Health said in a release. It’s also worth noting that the average age for fentanyl deaths was 35, 12 years younger than all other drug-related deaths and included five deaths among youth. In addition, 38 percent of all drug deaths had marijuana or metabolites in the body compared to 23 percent of all deaths investigated.