Deaths linked to fentanyl on the rise in Stanislaus County, due partially to fake pills
Counterfeit oxycodone pills, heavily laced with fentanyl, are on the streets of Stanislaus County, and they’re killers.
By mid-September, 27 deaths linked to fentanyl occurred in the county, far exceeding the total number of fentanyl overdose deaths of 17 in 2019 and 11 in 2018.
“Three death investigations from Sept. 12 to Sept. 14 turned out to be fentanyl related,” Sharon Bear, spokesperson for Modesto Police Department, said in an email. “We consider that to be a high number of preventable deaths.”
Bear said the MPD became aware of the counterfeit pills circulating in the community after seeing the spike in deaths.
The MPD posted a warning about the counterfeit pills on its Facebook page to alert the public about the dangers of the contaminated drugs. The pills look and feel like the prescription oxycodone, also called M-30s, but contain or are pure fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
The pills are illegally produced by people who are not trained pharmacists or medical scientists, and the concentration of fentanyl is variable, making the effects from its ingestion unpredictable. Users of the illicit narcotics are often unaware of the contamination and their risk for death.
Even trace amounts of fentanyl can be deadly. Earlier this month, four California Highway Patrol officers and three other people were hospitalized after inadvertent fentanyl exposure at a contaminated crash scene on the Golden Gate Bridge. The first responding officer required treatment with nalaxone to reverse the potential deadly toxicity of the fentanyl, according to a report from CBS News.
MPD officers carry and are trained with the use of nalaxone, known by brand name Narcan.
“With this outbreak, the adulterated medications are made to look like oxycodone, but they’re pure fentanyl,” said Dr. Bernardo Mora, psychiatrist and medical director of Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, BHRS.
He said the public health threat of the fentanyl-laced drugs prompted BHRS and county public health to convene a meeting of law enforcement and health experts in the county. The goal was to develop a strategy for combating fentanyl overdoses, including a public health campaign to alert residents about the dangers of the tainted drugs.
Deaths from overdoses due to all illicit drugs, not only fentanyl, have increased this year, with 67 by mid-September, placing the county on track for 100 deaths by year’s end, compared to 83 in 2019 and 85 in 2018.
Mora said it’s difficult to sort out the contribution of COVID-19 on mental health and substance abuse from the impact of the lethality of fentanyl currently on the streets.
What are opioids?
Opioids are also called narcotics and they’re a class of drugs used to reduce pain. However, they have high potential for addiction. The class includes naturally occurring products, such as morphine and codeine, derived from the pods of opium poppy plants. Heroin is a semi-synthetic opioid prepared from morphine. Synthetic opioids are manufactured and include multiple prescription painkillers such as fentanyl, oxycodone and vicodin, to name a few.
The brain has receptors, like docking stations, for opioids, and when the drugs enter the brain, the user feels an immediate pleasurable sensation. After the initial “rush,” the drugs can cloud mental function and slow down the heart rate and breathing enough to cause permanent brain damage or death.
The opioid crisis is a nationwide problem. The geography of Stanislaus County, notably with Highway 99 and Interstate 5 crossing the county, is likely a factor for attracting drug traffickers.
“If good people can get in and out so easily, likely not-so-good people can too,” said Mora.
A 2019 report from The Bee identified Stanislaus County as a hot spot for prescription narcotics, with distribution of more than 218 million pills, enough for 61 pills per resident per year, over a seven-year period from 2006 to 2012.
Nationwide, synthetic opioid deaths increased by 10% from 2017 to 2018, causing 31,000 deaths, and they continue to be elevated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC scientists have concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic imposes additional challenges to Americans impacted by substance use, including hurdles for seeking and maintaining treatment and recovery.
Mora said during the pandemic county BHRS has continued to operate its drug counseling and treatment services, including with community partners, such as Aegis Opioid Treatment Program.
Some of BHRS services have transitioned to telehealth, but the Genesis Opioid treatment program has maintained its in-person clinic.
“All of our outpatient services are up and running,“ said Mora. “We continue to try to match people with what they need.”
For additional information, visit http://www.stancounty.com/bhrs/, and for assistance, call BHRS warm line at 209-558-4600.
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
To help fund The Bee’s children’s health and economic development reporters with Report for America, go to bitly.com/ModbeeRFA
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
