Overdoses caused by fentanyl-laced drugs are skyrocketing. Here’s how we all can help

An obituary for a 23-year-old who grew up in Olympia caught our attention recently. It said the young man “was funny and smart; he had a warm heart and a kind spirit; he loved his family and friends. In his last weeks, (he) resided in sobriety at an Oxford House in Federal Way, where he was working toward his goals. His tragic death is directly related to the current opioid and fentanyl crisis.”

We salute this young man’s family for countering the stigma of addiction by publicly acknowledging his struggle, and calling out what led to his death. We are profoundly sorry for their loss, and grateful for their courage and honesty.

Countering the stigma of what we know to be a brain disease shouldn’t require courage, but it still does.

This beloved young man’s death is a sign of our times. Last week, we were greeted with the news that it was the first annual National Fentanyl Awareness Day. We sadly wonder how many years we will have to commemorate it.

Last year, 107,622 Americans died of overdoses – an increase of 15 percent from 2020. The increase is attributed to growing distribution of fentanyl, much of it mixed with other drugs, including meth and cocaine. Dr. Norah Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, reports that cocaine use hasn’t increased substantially, but more cocaine is laced with fentanyl.

She also notes that counterfeit pills, including stimulants like Adderall, which a student might be tempted to take to study for an exam, also are increasingly likely to be contaminated with fatal amounts of fentanyl.

Thurston County’s Opioid Response Coordinator Katie Strozyk confirms that Thurston County is experiencing the same trend. “It is a drug market like we have never experienced before,” she says.

The death rate would be far higher if it weren’t for naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan. It is a highly effective medication that reverses overdoses if it is administered in time.

Ben Miller-Todd, Thurston County’s Acting Assistant Director of Emergency Services, reports that local Emergency Medical Responders administered naloxone to reverse overdoses a total of 302 times in 2021. Eleven percent of the 302 people treated by county medics died, presumably because the treatment came too late.

These numbers don’t include any data about the use of naloxone by police or bystanders. Fortunately, there are many of them, because naloxone is now widely distributed by the county, and is available to all at pharmacies in a simple-to-use nasal spray.

Public health workers distribute it at the Syringe Services sites (aka needle exchanges), and outreach workers do so at homeless shelters and camps. (It should be noted that Syringe Services data reveals that only 18 percent of their clients are homeless.) They also strongly advise clients never to use drugs that may contain opioids when they are alone.

First responders now use naloxone on anyone found unresponsive, even if the cause is unknown. It won’t do any harm if the cause is something other than an opioid overdose. More of us also should have and know how to use naloxone. The stigma and secrecy about drug use means we may not know who might one day need it.

One wrinkle is that naloxone is less effective for people who use stimulant drugs like meth or cocaine that contain fentanyl. Naloxone only treats opioid overdoses, not stimulant overdoses. It may take more doses to work, and it will leave stimulant overdose symptoms untreated. That’s one of many reasons emergency responders urge people to always call 911 immediately when using naloxone.

One family’s heartbreaking tragedy provides lessons we should all heed: Opioid addiction is a brain disease that can devastate any family. For people to successfully recover from it, we have to do all we can to keep them alive.

This story was originally published May 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.