It’s so easy to say, “Not my kid!” but the rates of Fentanyl overdose are climbing sharply in Southern California, and there’s too much at risk to ignore the crisis. Understanding the Fentanyl Crisis is important for every parent. Accidental overdose has grown to epidemic proportions in Southern California, largely among people who did not know they were taking something so strong. Accidental Fentanyl overdose deaths increased 1,652% between 2016 and 2022, According to the LA County Dept of Public Heath. L.A. County’s District 5 (which includes Pasadena, South Pas, Altadena, and La Canada) leads the rest of the county in Fentanyl overdose hospitalizations.[1] | |||||
What is Fentanyl? Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid medication developed by pharmaceutical companies for hospital use. It is used legally and properly for severe post-operative pain or for end-stage cancer patients. Unfortunately, it’s also cheap and easy to make illegally and so powerful a few grains can cause death. Like meth, the Fentanyl recipe and process was recreated by those involved in the illegal drug trade and it is now widely used to boost the high that’s obtained from other illegal drugs. Cocaine, meth, and others are now often cut with this black-market Fentanyl because they are more addictive and have a lower cost to the dealers providing the substance. Because they are all white powders that look similar, there is no way to determine by visual inspection what is in the drug. Often, pills that are passed off as prescription drugs are cheaply made in illegal labs in Mexico and contain little of the drug they are sold as, a lot of an inert substance, and a tiny but deadly amount of Fentanyl. The pill presses used to compact medications into tablet form are easy to obtain, making the pills look like regular prescription tablets. Because black market drug manufacturers are not exactly reliable, often the substances are not mixed properly, resulting in a lethal amount of fentanyl being unevenly distributed through the mixer drug. | |||||
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How do they get it? Teens purchasing a few loose pills from a friend, thinking they’re going to get a rush from ADHD medication or Xanax could easily end up overdosing on the Fentanyl he or she never fathomed the pills could contain. The DEA put out a public safety alert last year stating that it’s more likely than not that “prescription” pills purchased illegally are actually laced with the deadly drug unbeknownst to the end user. What if it happens to someone I know? If you suspect your child, or a friend of your child, is experiencing an overdose, call 911! Check the symptoms: extreme sleepiness; tiny eye pupils; failure to respond to attempts to wake them up; slowed breathing; limpness, or cold, discolored skin. The next thing to do to administer naloxone. Naloxone is the generic term for Narcan, a drug that can counter the effects of Fentanyl for a time. Naloxone is not an antidote exactly, but it can stave off death for 30 minutes or so, which is enough time to get the paramedics on site. | |||||
According to Dr. Sam R. Beckerman, MD PhD and Attending Physician of Huntington Hospital’s Emergency Department, naloxone is easy to administer, has few to no dangerous side effects, and will likely not harm the victim even if they didn’t actually need it. “Unfortunately, in 2024, with the rise in fentanyl containing counterfeit pills and recreational drugs (e.g., cocaine, amphetamines), anyone and everyone is at risk for accidental opioid overdose or poisoning. Thankfully, naloxone is reversal agent that can save someone’s life in an opioid overdose. I recommend, without hesitation, that every household should have naloxone. It is so safe and effective that it is now available “over the counter". You do not even need a prescription! I keep naloxone in our home by the fire extinguisher. The medication comes as a nasal spray and is easy enough to administer that my wife and I have taught our 6-year-old son how to use it. “In an opioid overdose, people die because they stop breathing or just aren’t breathing enough. As an emergency physician, it is a lot easier to keep people alive than it is to bring them back from the dead. Naloxone can be the difference between life and death in an opioid overdose. More and more, we are seeing patients brought into the Emergency Department alive and breathing because Good Samaritans or First Responders have administered naloxone before the patient arrived at the hospital.” | |||||
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How can I protect my Kids?
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| Thank you to doctors Sam Beckerman and Evan Adintori from Huntington Hospital for their inspiration, quotes, and review of the information in this article, and for the important work that they do. Those who are interested in learning more about a presentation of this topic for their community group may contact Dr. Beckerman at Samuel.Beckerman@huntingtonhealth.org | |||||
[1] “Data Report: Fentanyl Overdoses in Los Angeles County”, November 2023
