YAVAPAI COUNTY SEES RISING METH NUMBERS IN OVERDOSE FATALITIES

Published on June 02, 2025

Everyone knows about illicit fentanyl. It's in the news a lot. But a recent report from MATFORCE highlights how methamphetamine is also becoming an increasing issue when it comes to drug overdose deaths in our county.

YCSO is part of the Yavapai County Overdose Fatality Review Board, which examines drug overdose death causes and trends, helping MATFORCE to improve prevention efforts, among other things. Just last week, at a public town hall in the Verde Valley, YCSO officials said although fentanyl remains the biggest drug issue, meth use is also on the rise in cases reported to law enforcement.

Last week, MATFORCE released the report on 2024 overdose fatalities, and Executive Director Merilee Fowler told a conference call which included YCSO, "People do not believe meth kills, but the numbers show otherwise." The report says 66 people died last year of drug overdoses in this county (the same as in 2023). Of those, 62 were accidental, four were undetermined. Methamphetamine was the cause of death in 17 of those cases and was a contributing factor in 13 others (along with fentanyl or other drugs). Meth-involved overdose deaths are up 88% in the last eight years, while fentanyl-related deaths actually dropped 15% from 2023 to 2024. “Methamphetamine use is on the rise in our communities. It’s affecting our young adults, older adults, and most vulnerable populations at alarming rates," Fowler warned. And warm summer months are the most dangerous time, she said, because heat intensifies the consequences of meth use.

The report showed that 40% of the victims last year were aged 51-76, and 87% of those deaths involved fentanyl and/or meth. Also, marijuana was found in the toxicology of 25 of the 66 victims (compared to 10 in 2023), and cocaine in 11 (three times as many as the year before). The highest per capita increase in overdose deaths in the county was in the Camp Verde area.

Fowler said overdose deaths in Yavapai County are down 20% from four years ago, bucking the state and national trends of a rise in fatalities. And, she said, MATFORCE efforts to reach teens through things like presentations in local schools appears to be having an impact. The youngest OD fatality victim last year was 23, while five teens as young as 14 died in 2020. MATFORCE statistics show 90% of addiction begins with substance use in the teen years but many teens shy away from drug use and peer pressure when their parents speak openly with them about their disapproval of the behavior.

You can read the entire MATFORCE report at www.matforce.org/yavapai-county.