sbsheriff
By the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
On Monday, August 21st, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office recognizes National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day by continuing to take action with Project Opioid, a diverse coalition of community leaders from various disciplines committed to addressing the opioid crisis and saving lives, and through our agency’s widespread distribution of the lifesaving drug Narcan (Naloxone).
The latest data on overdose deaths in our county reveals that the situation remains critical. There were 118 total overdose deaths from January 1 to July 31, 2023; 63 of those deaths were related to fentanyl. This compares to 105 overdose deaths during the same period in 2022, with 70 of those related to fentanyl. These numbers reflect the exponential growth in recent years of overdose deaths generally, and fentanyl-related deaths specifically. Of note, in the 2020 calendar year there were 113 total overdose deaths, with 37 related to fentanyl.
The Sheriff’s Office believes that the 10% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths we have seen year-to-date is likely related to the widespread distribution and use of Narcan (naloxone) throughout our county. We have a FREE Narcan Distribution Project in partnership with the Department of Health Care Services that makes Narcan available to anyone, no questions asked, at ANY of the Sheriff’s Patrol Stations throughout the county, as well as at our Northern Branch and Main Jails. Since this program began less than six months ago, the Sheriff’s Office has distributed over 1,790 life-saving doses of Narcan to community members. The Narcan is in the form of a nasal spray and can be possessed and used by concerned citizens who may encounter someone unconscious due to an opioid overdose. California’s Good Samaritan laws shield anyone who administers Narcan in such a situation from civil liability.
Sheriff Bill Brown said, “Narcan is a harmless, yet miraculous drug that reverses the often-lethal effects of an opioid overdose. Simply put, it’s easy to use, and it saves lives. Making more Narcan available to community members will help us lower the unacceptably high rate of overdose deaths that is prevalent in our community and across the nation.”
Our Sheriff’s Office deputies and custody deputies also continue to administer Narcan to those suspected of experiencing acute opioid overdoses. Since 2017, we have administered over 150 doses of Narcan throughout the county in exigent circumstances, with 40 administrations in 2023 alone. Additionally, we have partnered with the Pacific Pride Foundation and begun providing Narcan training to inmates – and making Narcan available to them in jail housing areas — beginning in the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria. We will be expanding that training and provision of Narcan to inmates in our Main Jail in the near future.
FREE Narcan (naloxone) can be obtained at the following Santa Barbara County Sheriff locations:
Buellton Sheriff’s Station
City of Buellton Police Department
140 W. Highway 246
Buellton, CA 93427
(805) 686-8150
Coastal Bureau Sheriff’s Station
City of Carpinteria Police Department
5775 Carpinteria Ave
Carpinteria, CA 93103
(805) 568-3399
Goleta Valley Patrol Bureau
City of Goleta Police Department
4434 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
(805) 681-4100
Isla Vista Foot Patrol
6504 Trigo Rd.
Isla Vista, CA 93117
(805) 681-4179
Lompoc Valley Sheriff’s Station
3500 Harris Grade Rd.
Lompoc, CA 93436
(805) 737-7737
New Cuyama Sheriff’s Station
70 Newsome St.
New Cuyama, CA 93254
(661) 766-2310
Santa Maria Sheriff’s Station
812 W. Foster Rd.
Santa Maria, CA 93455
(805) 934-6150
Santa Ynez Valley Station
City of Solvang Police Department
1745 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463
(805) 686-5000
Santa Barbara County Main Jail
4436 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Phone: (805) 681-4260
Northern Branch Jail
2301 Black Road
Santa Maria, CA 93455
(805) 554-3100
sacjon,
I’m with you on this. It isn’t enabling, its you and I having Narcan on hand in case we need it to save a life.
I may be for gun control or against it, but I still carry a gun shot trauma kit. I am strongly anti violence and anti crime, but I would use the kit on anyone who needed it.
Frat Houses throw parties. People have been known to overdose at parties (no aspersions cast on the fraternity) Why not have Narcan in the kit just in case you find someone unconscious in the bushes? My conscience does not allow me to ignore that I could have chosen to carry Narcan in my medical kit, but chose not to because of distaste for drug use, and even some drug users. I can think of a couple of addicts I know who have stolen from me that I really do not like at all, but I’d still be happy to have been able to keep them alive.
I also understand there are some people who strongly believe in letting natural selection take its course, but that seems sociopathic
As terrible as this is, it’s good to hear that the SBSO is providing free Narcan to any who ask. This needs to be made even more accessible and stigma-free. People aren’t going to stop taking opioids. Accepting their existence and use and providing life saving help like this is the first step in making addiction a little less deadly. Might be good idea to provide it at bars and other social gathering places where opioid use may occur. Hand it out at frat houses in IV or to anyone on DP.
Great job, SBSO!
Does the border happen to be closed on National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day?
LOL, the border will be the same as it is every day. Closed. And patrolled by 20,000 professional, trained and armed uniformed American personnel. Too bad you have no respect for our law enforcement personnel.
About 2 million people would disagree that the board is closed: [From May 2023] US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Raul Ortiz said there have been an estimated 530,000 migrants ‘gotaways’ since the beginning of fiscal year 2023, which began in October.
Gotaways are those who were spotted by border patrol but unable to be apprehended, triggered motion sensor cameras in remote areas, or were otherwise known to have stolen into the country.
The true number of people who have made it into the US illegally is likely to be even higher.
The number of gotaways is on track to be the highest in recent years, after 599,000 were estimated in fiscal year 2022, and 389,155 in 2021.
It’s always closed. Further, that’s not the only place drugs come from. Education is key.
You guys both don’t know what a lie is. Please directly quote the lie.
Do you both see you using the exact opposite argument whenever “defund the police” comes up? uhh, well when they say defund they don’t really mean defund, they mean take funds away from them and use it elsewhere, it doesn’t really mean defund, uhh but open literally means open now….. Anyway, please directly quote my “lie” about the boarder.
2:11 – Boogie boarder? Skate boarder? Paddle boarder?
VOICE – Saying the “border is open,” is a lie. It’s a lie because it’s not true and you know it. Stop lying.
LOL oh here you go whatabouting again! Not helping you derail this any further.
VOR–if a bank’s doors are locked and someone punches a hole in the building to get in would you say that bank was “open”?
Of course not. Ridiculous.
VOICE – if there is a Border Patrol, then entrance at the border is regulated, ergo “closed.” Why would we even bother if it was “open?” Done and dusted.
Alex, a more apt comparison would be leaving the banks back door unlocked at night, the banks managers not funding improved security features and not adequately staffing the security guard team. THEN, if the robber gets caught taking the money, tells the robber to keep the money and show up at a court date 2 years out.
VOR, nope. Closed is closed. Open is open. People lying about “open borders” are…lying. They can repeat the lie a million times, that will never make it true.
Now if you were to say “partially unsecured” or “porous”, you would be telling the truth.
We can’t have meaningful conversations when we start with a lie.
VOICE at 12:03 – that bank is still closed though.
Also, VOR, if you are claiming that the border is “open”, then I have some dead people who were attempting to get over razor barriers in a river that you may want to have a talk with. Oh, you can’t, they’re dead. Because they were trying to cross a border that is not open.
Here are some facts:
1. Even the most persistent population of addicts still yield a couple of people that come through the other side, get sober, and have productive lives, i.e., not every fentanyl user inevitably dies.
2. Fentanyl is currently the deadliest drug out there and we are swimming in it.
3. Fentanyl is often sold as other drugs and addicts and casual and first time drug users are at risk of getting a hit of fentanyl instead of whatever drug they thought they were buying.
4. There is no study out there or even anecdotal evidence that says that the knowledge of Narcan being on the premises or available plays a role in someone deciding to take a drug, i.e., the presence or supplying of Narcan is not in fact enabling or adding to the drug problem.
Studies show no impact, no “enabling”.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3456285/
5. People die even after ACCIDENTALLY being exposed to fentanyl. Small children have gotten ahold of Fentanyl patches and died. What about them?
Narcan is a cheap and easy way to give people a second chance . This nation is awash in an epidemic of deadly fentanyl and there is a way to save the lives of people who are decent, kind, loved and valued and whose deaths leave a gaping hole in the lives of many. And yes, I know someone who lost a child to a fentanyl overdose. Why deny giving people a shot at life, for a first time user, why not give them a way out of an accident, for an addict, why not give them a chance at turning their lives around?
At this point, it would not be out of line for every household in the country to have this lifesaving medicine available. What’s the harm? None. You walk into your kids’ bedroom and find them in a Fentanyl overdose and maybe you can save their life, or the life of their friend, or your friend, or your spouse.
Advocating against this is irrational and inhuman.
ALEX – Well said. The vehement opposition to providing Narcan to those in need by someone supposedly in the medical profession, working at a local university where one of my kids attends, is terrifying. Lack of empathy and compassion is one thing, but being in a position to prevent the use of a life saving tool is disturbing.
DARE screwed up a lot of kids back in the 1980s with false information about drugs and drug users. Seems like our next generation is getting a better and more honest education in this, but the damage is done to those now in charge. We need to provide those with decision making power with the correct information about this topic. I’m super impressed with the SBSO handling this in such a progressive fashion. Again, kudos to SBSO!
Basic
I’ve given some thought to your comments and am responding to what I think is your concern:
“Young people will take on more risk of overdosing because Narcan is everywhere.”
Let me know if distilled your thoughts incorrectly.
I can see some people doing this and they won’t all be young. But sticking to the USA College and University population of 18,660,000 million, of course some will try this. Every drug that can be misused or abused will be. I do not think that is a good reason not to keep Narcan readily available to everyone, primarily because sometimes someone is found in the bushes, in the bathroom etc. and you have no idea how long they’ve been there. Paramedics can be 15 or more minutes out. That could be too long. Minutes count. I’d rather enable a very stupid drug user by administering my Narcan, than realize they died because help took 7 minutes but the overdoser only had 6.
EDNEY – I agree fully. The whole argument that we should not distribute or provide life saving tools because they encourage risky behavior is just morally decrepit. We provide condoms to students to avoid STDs such as HIV. We provide rescue to those who get injured participating in risky sports/activities. We have EMTs on the ready at concerts and large festivals where drugs and alcohol are known to be consumed. Should we stop all these actions so that people don’t feel enabled to engage in risky behavior? No. Never. That would be barbaric. Humans make bad choices and even mistakes (eg, smoking a fentanyl laced joint as a freshman in college at their first party). We shouldn’t condemn them to death for this. You don’t have to be an “evil addict” to die from fentanyl, you can be a God-fearing straight A student in the prime of life who experimented 1 time. Allowing them to die is categorically inhumane.