Posted on 12/09/2021 4:24:51 PM PST by nickcarraway
Santa Cruz County is seeing a spike in fentanyl overdoses. Health officials say they are up 66% compared to last year.
It's been an alarming surge that is impacting the entire community.
The reasons behind those increases can be everything from depression during this pandemic, to fentanyl becoming more available to the community.
"I had addictions. I was doing all of the same stuff that you hear about."
This 55-year-old man didn't want us to use his real name, so we'll call him Bill.
Six years after his mother died, he turned to heroin.
While living homeless he encountered people using all types of illicit drugs including, fentanyl.
Concerned for his health, Bill went to the Homeless Persons Health Project in Santa Cruz County for help.
"I see it everywhere ... everywhere that's all they're pushing is the fentanyl now, you know. They can get it so much cheaper," Bill said.
Data from the Health Services Agency shows overdoses have been going up since 2018.
So far this year, the county has seen a 66% increase compared to last year.
That's 537 people who have overdosed and had to be treated with the overdose-reversing medication Narcan.
Many of them didn't respond to Narcan.
A recent coroner’s report shows 29 people died from fentanyl overdoes from January-September of this year.
"In particular the Summer of 2021 in Santa Cruz is where we saw the biggest spike and so I think that we're seeing here is a constellation of things. I think the stress of the pandemic itself probably leading more people to use drugs. There may be mental health issues associated," said Dr. David Ghilarducci, EMS medical director.
The manager of the Health Center at the Homeless Person Health Project, Joey Crottogini, said they've certainly treated their share of overdose cases but it's not limited to the unhoused.
"What we’ve tried to do at the Health Services Agency is actually expand medicated assisted treatment. So, by providing outreach street medicine and narrow distribution to people experiencing homelessness and house people who are struggling to get treatment," Crottogini said.
"We look at demographics and location obviously most of it is in the city of Santa Cruz. Most of it seems to happen along the Central Core of Santa Cruz," Ghilarducci said.
For Bill, he's getting his life back together after he witnessed fentanyl's impact.
"I lost a lot of friends in just the last four months total but yeah — to what kind of drug? Fentanyl," Bill said.
The health department is working with a national program called, "OD maps," where they can get real-time data when overdose spikes happen.
If they notice a trend, they can use a tool called, "Bad Batch" to alert people through social media and other means.
Old child, young child feel alright. On a warm Santa Cruz night.
But the cartel said they would vote Demoncrat.
ILLEGAL OPIOIDS CONTAINING FENTANYL kill FAR MORE people than LEGALLY PRESCRIBED OPIOIDS.
Pharma has bigger pockets to sue, also will not kill you for suing
Liberals and losers and takers of society offing themselves.What is not to like?
I am sorry Bill got into fentanyl and glad he is trying to get clean.
But I notice a pattern with these stories they ALL point to some triggering event as if it EXPLAINS or JUSTIFIES it.
Bill lost his mother... and six years later started using.
You know what? Virtually all of us lose our mothers. It’s usually very rough. But it has literally nothing to do with whether you become a junkie or not.
Democrats sold out to the drug cartels.
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As have more than a few in the GOP, FBI, CIA, DEA, DIA, NSA, DHS, TSA, and countless nameless, faceless, unelected career bureaucrats along with plenty of LEOs, judges and DAs. Everybody is getting a piece of the action. Illegal drugs are the new gold rush with a conservative estimate of $360 billion worth smuggled into the US in 2020 alone.
Don’t kid yourself thinking things like this get out of hand because the cartels are so much smarter than our LEO agencies and intelligence agencies. We have been able to stop rogue nations and terrorists from smuggling WMDs into the US for over 3O years, but they can’t stop the drugs, or can’t capture the cartel leaders?
Bull$h!t. I don’t buy it. They’re all in on it with the cartels. Everybody is getting paid.
If you can’t trust a random drug dealer, who can you trust?
That’s what I say. And same way with politicians, it used to be when you bought one, they stayed bought. This just painfully reminds me of when my grandfather passed. On his deathbed he insisted family leave him as he called on two acquaintances instead. His councilman and his attorney. He directed them in to sit on each side of his bed. He reached out his hand to both of them knowing each breath could be his last. After an uncomfortable silence, one asked him why did he choose them sit with him in his last hours. (they each didn’t think they were that close to him but did know and do business with him). He said weakly “When Jesus died He was between two thieves and I wanted to go out the same way”.
FREE BARABAS
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