AUSTIN, Texas — Drug overdose deaths in Travis County, including from fentanyl, are down for the first time in three years, county officials announced Monday during a news conference.
J. Keith Pinckard, Travis County’s chief medical examiner, said that includes a 26% drop in fentanyl poisonings, plus a 19% drop in all accidental drug overdose deaths, in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.
Chief Robert Luckritz with Austin-Travis County EMS said medics are seeing fewer opioid-related emergencies.
“We do attribute that directly to a lot of the efforts we’ve been doing as an entire community in terms of harm reduction, education, Narcan outreach, medication treatment programs,” Luckritz said. “It’s the combination of all of those things put together.”
County Judge Andy Brown and Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) announced a new $1.6 million federal grant to expand medication-assisted drug treatment, peer support and planning for care after an inmate’s release.
“They do have some medically assisted treatment in the jail, but this is going to help expand that,” Brown said. “It’s really going to help save lives.”
Brown said a county report found inmates are eight times more likely to die of an overdose within six months of leaving jail, compared to the community in general. The county judge said that’s because inmates’ tolerance drops when they’re not using behind bars. However, once they’re released, their prior dosage they could previous handle could now kill them.
That risk, along with harm reduction and financial literacy, is a topic members of Texas Harm Reduction Alliance (THRA) currently cover with inmates as part of the group's outreach inside the Travis County Jail.
“The potency that you know may not be what you come out to,” THRA Executive Director Maggie Luna said, adding, “All you need is dignity and someone to talk to.”
Lily Hughes, THRA’s Outreach Team Lead, said there’s not enough help for former inmates trying to reintegrate into society.
“I think there’s so much potential to change that cause what we’re doing is not working,” Hughes said. “People are leaving jail. They are dying. They are not connected to the services that they need, and the cycle just repeats itself.”
Hughes welcomed the county’s announcement on Monday.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you if Narcan didn’t exist,” said Hughes, who told KVUE she’s a former IV drug user.
She believes the money is a starting point to a larger conversation.
“Just talking about what substance abuse looks like from prevention to recovery,” Hughes said, while also emphasizing the need to expand work opportunities and access to fentanyl testing strips.
Congressman Doggett said there’s bipartisan support to legalize fentanyl testing strips. He called on Congress and the Texas Legislature to do so.
State lawmakers reconvene for the 89th legislative session on Jan. 14.