A new ad campaign has launched in Riverside County, California to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl after the county saw a more than ten-fold increase in fentanyl deaths over the last five years.
In 2016, about 30 people died from fentanyl in Riverside County. Last year, that number jumped to 400.
Officials say the ad campaign is a warning to all ages. Some people, even those who regularly use opioid drugs, have no idea the dose they are taking even has fentanyl in it and end up accidentally overdosing.
Christina Rodriguez lost her son to fentanyl last August. She says he suffered from mental illness and depression.
“It’s everywhere,” Rodriguez says of fentanyl. “It’s on our baseball fields, it’s on social media, in the hands of our college students. It’s in our jails and on the streets and in the hands of the mentally ill.”
Officials in Riverside are also getting the word out about Narcan, the drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, including fentanyl.
Many schools have Narcan on-site now, and it’s something parents might consider picking up as well.
Drug Free Kern is a recipient of the California Department of Public Health’s Naloxone Distribution Project. If you would like to obtain Narcan or get training materials on how to use it, visit Drug Free Kern’s overdose prevention website.
