A UNO student has died of fentanyl and ethanol intoxication after attending her first Mardi Gras parade as WWLTV reports.
The coroner’s office identified 21-year-old Ciaya Whetstone as the latest overdose victim in a growing fentanyl problem floating around the city of New Orleans.
According to reports, Whetstone attended a Mardi Gras parade in Metairie on February 19 and later went to a bar where her friends say she took an Uber back to her apartment. Her roommate was there and says Whetstone and the Uber driver came into the apartment while Whetstone changed her clothes then left again with the Uber driver.
Later a private vehicle drops Whetstone off at a hospital in New Orleans East where she later died.
Accidental overdose deaths in New Orleans have been a growing concern for city health leaders.
A 2021 New Orleans Coroner's Report on Accidental Drug Deaths shows in 2021, there were 492 accidental drug deaths in New Orleans, a 35% increase compared to 365 deaths in 2020.
In 2021, 77% of overdose deaths were male, and 23% were female, similar to previous years.
“The fact that 94% of overdose cases are linked to fentanyl, shows our community faces a crisis that grows more severe each year,” said New Orleans Coroner, Dr. Dwight McKenna. “We are seeing similar high numbers across the country, and it proves just how deadly fentanyl is. This year's report serves as a warning to make all citizens aware that (highly lethal) fentanyl is regularly being cut into cocaine and street pills. Because of fentanyl, using street drugs in this day and age is like playing Russian roulette with your life.”
“It takes a small amount to render someone incapacitated,” said New Orleans Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno. “Fentanyl is in everything. A preliminary analysis of our overdose deaths last year shows that it is in at least 90 percent of those deaths.”
