Fentanyl deaths reach 100 in Stanislaus County this year. How many times was Narcan administered?
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Fentanyl Crisis in Stanislaus County
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Stanislaus County has recorded 100 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2023, with two months remaining in the year.
The county is on pace to eclipse last year’s disturbing total of 128 deaths from the opioid drug that’s driving a national crisis. The updated numbers were released at Thursday’s Stanislaus County Opioid Safety Coalition meeting.
The preliminary data from the county Coroner’s Office show 161 fatal overdoses tied to all illegal drugs in the first 10 months of this year.
Authorities still are awaiting toxicology results for other cases and expect total overdose deaths will exceed 200 this year. The county had 176 drug overdose fatalities last year — twice as many as in 2018.
Local agencies monitored an increase in street fentanyl mortality in August and late September, after the numbers were down in the first half of the year. Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and is often combined with counterfeit pills, methamphetamine and cocaine.
Methamphetamine use has resulted in 32 overdose deaths in the first 10 months of 2023. Fourteen deaths were caused by other opioids and 10 by other drugs.
There have been almost 1,300 nonfatal drug overdoses in Stanislaus County this year, and lifesaving naloxone (commonly known by the brand name Narcan) was administered 692 times by emergency responders, according to a presentation of data from the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program.
The national system collects nearly real-time data on suspected overdoses from fire departments, other emergency service agencies and public health services.
The mapping reveals the 95354 ZIP code in Modesto has the highest concentration of drug overdoses, including 264 nonfatal ODs (five per week) and naloxone administered 154 times this year. The system does not collect data on naloxone administered by bystanders or friends of the overdose victim. Suspected fatal overdoses are investigated and tabulated by the Coroner’s Office.
The 95354 area includes parks in the La Loma area, the airport neighborhood and homeless camps near the Tuolumne River.
The overdose mapping can serve as a guide for decision-making and targeting of resources to combat the fentanyl crisis.
County health services and the Sheriff’s Department are participating in the mapping program, and efforts are under way to get other local law enforcement agencies involved.
This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
