Posted on 10/20/2022 5:12:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
San Bernardino County’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Michael Sequeira, has issued a health advisory to bring attention to the dangers of fentanyl due to an increase in overdose deaths within the county.
In 2018, there were 30 fentanyl overdose deaths per 100,000 residents in the county. The number rose to 74 per 100,000 residents in 2019, and then to 227 per 100,000 residents in 2020. Last year, there were 309 fentanyl overdose deaths per 100,000 residents in the county.
Several County agencies are collaborating with community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and schools to develop strategies to raise awareness about fentanyl use.
“Deaths related to opioid use, such as fentanyl, are completely preventable,” said Dr. Sequeira. “Efforts to reduce the effects of opioid overdose and death are a top priority for San Bernardino County.”
Sequeira is also warning people to be aware of the emergence of “rainbow fentanyl,” which is a potentially fatal drug found in pills and powders in a variety of bright colors, shapes and sizes that could be attractive to young people.
What is fentanyl? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is a cheap synthetic drug 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and is responsible for more overdose deaths than any other illegal drug in the United States. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States. Fentanyl’s increased presence in the drug supply is a key contributor to the increase in overdose deaths.
Many illegal drugs, including counterfeit prescription opioid pills, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy, can be mixed with fentanyl with or without a person’s knowledge, as they would not be able to see, taste, or smell the fentanyl.
Protecting the community The Department of Public Health is working on implementing various strategies to protect the community, including:
• Increasing the availability and accessibility of Naloxone. Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids—including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications—when given in time.
• Integrating harm reduction intervention services in the community.Harm reduction emphasizes engaging directly with people who use drugs to prevent overdose and connect them to support services.
• Providing opioid awareness and overdose prevention education.
Anyone who encounters fentanyl in any form should not handle it and should call 911 immediately.
Recognizing the signs of an opioid overdose can save a life. Here are some things to look for:
• Small, constricted “pinpoint pupils” • Falling asleep or losing consciousness • Slow, weak, or no breathing • Choking or gurgling sounds • Limp body • Cold and/or clammy skin • Discolored skin (especially in lips and nails)
To learn more about how Public Health is working to address the opioid epidemic, click here. For information about alcohol/substance use treatment options, call the Department of Behavioral Health Substance Use Disorder 24-hour helpline at (800) 968-2636.
Last week the San Bernardino Police Department along with members of their narcotics team stopped a car for vehicle code violations and located 20,000 fentanyl pills, 1/2 ounce of powder cocaine, a loaded handgun, and over $1200 in cash. Three occupants were arrested on multiple felony charges.
PSA
Don’t do drugs.
There’s a sick and greedy world out there that will lace fentanyl with other drugs.
IE. Ann Hecht...and four dead college students the last spring break in Miami Beach.
Be careful out there.
5.56mm
IMO, big mistake to try to link opioid with fentanyl. Sure they are both opioids but the rise in fentanyl use is the direct result of the crackdown on other, safer, less potent opioids. Yes they can all be abused but no they are not the same with Fentanyl being many many times stronger than prescription pills for example.
Not to say I encourage drug abuse, not at all. This has always been a demand problem and a mental health problem not a substance problem. We will never stop the supply, we have to stop the demand. Of course with Fentanyl and meth use the demand will eventually resolve itself with many tragedies and much despair.
San Bernardino is a sh*t hole.
My brother died from drugs. My parents took the same path to their graves.
I blame them for their stupid choices.
Ditto the fools who take fentanyl.
I grew up there in the 60s & early 70s when it was still decent. Left for good in 1974, altho my parents lived there until they died. We lived on the NE side in Highland, which was a pretty good area. Lots of USAF retirees living there, including my father. It’s definitely a sh*thole now tho.
Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six.
good idea but be careful. He is probably working for the government.
Can these numbers be right? There are 2.1 million people in San Bernardino County. That means that at the rate of 309 per 100,000 people, there will be 21 x 309 deaths this year. That’s close to 6,500 deaths. Whew.
Need to declare war on the cartels and start wiping them out. The strategy is to thin out our border populations via deadly drugs while overwhelming the same geo areas with illegals.
We need to clear a 100 mile dmz into mexico. Anything human found in that area is a training target. Anything. No exceptions. Then at least we could also test out new weapon systems and give regular training and new folks training in live person situations.
Of course we could decide not to hit them if they are hostages or certain kinds of friendlies. But if we see that going on then we just expand the dmz and go after the cartels even deeper for pulling that crap.
I am a very firm believer in the death penalty for producing...importing...and distributing certain drugs. And possession of more than a small amount of them would be enough to qualify.
“San Bernardino is a sh*t hole”
Yep, therefore the death rate “is a start “
In 1984 I was a drug abuser and drunk living in the fleabag, rent by the hour, downtown motels along 5th Street. I lived in the Motel 6, the Sunshine, and the Golden Eagle. I worked graveyard shift at a 7-11 on Highland Avenue, and often walked there at night. Amazingly I was never robbed or assaulted.I left California in 1985. 36 years ago tonight I got high for the last time. Today I am happily married, retired, and doing well!
“a while”
Thank you.
“36 years ago tonight I got high for the last time. Today I am happily married, retired, and doing well!”
Good for you. I’m always glad to see someone beat that life.
What you *won’t* see is a demographic breakdown of *who* is overdosing, and *why*. What it would reveal:
1) Race and class and sex and age of those overdosing.
2) Whether they had been prescribed Oxycodone and become addicted, or had taken counterfeit Oxycodone. And whether they had taken the drug purely for recreational use.
3) The *amount* of drug in them, indicating accidental or suicidal use.
4) If the drug was used in combination with other drugs or alcohol.
Coming in with all that cheap labor and welfare queens from south of the border.
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