Minnesota is no exception when it comes to the stranglehold fentanyl has on the nation, where even young children who have overdosed — sometimes fatally — after accidentally ingesting the drug have become particularly vulnerable.
State data analyzed by the Star Tribune shows opioid-involved deaths among all age groups surged by 130% between 2019 and 2022, with fentanyl representing huge portions of those overdoses. In that same time, hundreds of youth younger than 20 survived overdoses of fentanyl and other opioids. Most overdoses struck during the pandemic.
“Here in Minnesota, nine out of 10 overdose deaths have fentanyl, and that’s coming from the medical examiner’s office,” said Alicia House, executive director for the Steve Rummler Hope Network. “It’s really important and it’s really scary and it’s something that everyone should be aware of.”
Minnesota reflects a nationwide trend of thousands of people being poisoned. A 2024 report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration shows that nearly 300,000 people died of fentanyl poisoning between 2019 and 2023. DEA officials say Mexican cartels are driving the fentanyl epidemic, hiding the powder into other drugs before selling it to unsuspecting users.
Fentanyl has already created disastrous health and public safety threats for Twin Cities children.
St. Paul parents were charged with manslaughter and child endangerment this May after their 1-year-old daughter Mi’Vida Vorlicky ingested fentanyl and died. Investigators found fentanyl pills and other drug paraphernalia in their home, and discovered a hold was placed on Mi’Vida’s birth because her mother used fentanyl while in labor at the hospital.
A toddler died of suspected fentanyl poisoning at a Minneapolis shelter this May. Minneapolis Police responding to a call months later found three children, all believed to be under 5-years-old, in a home with hundreds of fentanyl pills on the floor. And a 2023 Star Tribune investigation into Minnesota’s child protection system unveiled failures in how the state protects its vulnerable youth from parents with addiction.
Calls to the Minnesota Poison Control Agency suggest the issue may be larger than data suggest. Dr. Travis Olives, associate medical director for the Minnesota Regional Poison Center, said calls to the center for children younger than 5 who were exposed to opioids have decreased from 65 in 2022 to seven this year. But Olives warned that nearly half of those children were under a year old, and dozens survived while suffering major side effects.
