A GROWING PROBLEM
In 2021, more than one third of drug toxicity deaths in Travis County were found to involve fentanyl. The total number of deaths involving fentanyl that year was 118, up 237.14% from 35 deaths in 2020.
ACCIDENTAL DRUG DEATHS WHERE FENTANYL WAS DETECTED IN TRAVIS COUNTY
120
from 2020 to 2021 237.14%
Gov. Greg Abbott held a press conference Sept. 21 about increased fentanyl activity.
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“MOST INDIVIDUALS WHO SUFFER A FENTANYL RELATED DEATH PROBABLY DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE INGESTING THE DEADLY DRUG. MANY OF THOSE WHO WERE POISONED UNWITTINGLY INGESTED DEADLY COUNTERFEITS THAT APPEARED TO BE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, WHICH WERE ACQUIRED OUTSIDE OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.” GOV. GREG ABBOTT IN A LETTER TO STATE AGENCIES
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cocaine and every pill that you can imagine,” Housworth said. Response from schools Area school districts are taking precautions to combat overdoses by promoting existing programs. Both Round Rock ISD and Hutto ISD are also ensuring campus police o cers, nurses and counselors are trained in using Narcan. Also known as naloxone, Narcan is a medication that can be used to reverse an opioid overdose if administered quickly. “If we ever nd ourselves in a sit- uation, Narcan is kind of that last- case emergency life-saving tool that can give them some time until EMS arrives,” said Kendra Estes, HISD director of health and safety. Both districts have enough of a supply of Narcan to equip all o cers and nurses in secondary schools, o cials said. Partnerships with local organizations such as Bluebonnet Trails and Williamson County EMS have played a vital role in allowing districts to obtain Narcan. Bluebonnet Trails used about $300,000 in COVID-19 relief funds in
scal year 2021-22 year to purchase and distribute Narcan to school dis- tricts and police and re departments. “I can’t think of a single school dis- trict in Williamson County that we didn’t give it out to,” Housworth said. “We include Travis County and … as far as Milam County.” Nurses, o cers and counselors in HISD planned to host a free training course Nov. 1, after press time Oct. 25, on spotting and responding to over- doses for school sta and administra- tors and members of the public. While Narcan training has been one priority for districts, o cials stressed that tools to identify and respond to an overdose are more of a last line of defense than a complete solution to combat fentanyl overdoses. “Narcan is … kind of the last-ditch tool, and it’s really everything that we do before that person nds themselves in that crisis that is really meaningful,” Estes said. In keeping with that sentiment, districts are also focused on bolster- ing their communication e orts, ensuring students and parents are educated on the dangers of fen- tanyl to minimize the chances of an
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SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FENTANYL Fentanyl can take many di erent forms, and it takes very little to cause a fatal overdose. Here are some key facts to know as well as common signs of an overdose to watch out for.
Of the 118 who died of fentanyl over- doses, 53 were between the ages of 14 and 30. Jack Housworth is the lead sub- stance abuse counselor at Bluebon- net Trails Community Services, an organization that provides support and treatment for those struggling with substance abuse in and around Williamson County. He said in recent months, he has seen more and more young people— including teens and adolescents— overdosing on fentanyl. “It’s absolutely in epidemic propor- tions,” Housworth said. “We’re hear- ing of or seeing kids dying every day.” Housworth said one reason for the recent surge in fentanyl overdoses is that small but lethal amounts of fentanyl are appearing in a variety of controlled substances such as counterfeit pills and illegal drugs. “We’re seeing fentanyl in metham- phetamines; we’re seeing fentanyl in marijuana; we’re seeing fentanyl in
FENTANYL FACTS
As little as 2 MG can be a lethal dose.
It can be mixed in with non-prescription counterfeit pills such as oxycodone, Adderall and Xanax. More recently, it has also been distributed in colorful “rainbow fentanyl” pills resembling candy. SOURCES: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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