As 2022 comes to a close, we are able to report a continuing decrease in opioid overdoses and fatalities. As of November 15th, there had been 614 overdoses, down from 634 at the same time last year. There have been 111 deaths from overdose, a 13 % decrease from 128 deaths last year. The chart below shows the accumulated totals for 2021 and 2022, by month.
What are Opioids?
Opiates/ opioids are drugs that are used to relieve pain because of the way they suppress the central nervous system. This method of pain treatment causes many individuals to become tolerant of the drug. When this happens, a higher dose of the drug is needed to achieve the same pain-relieving effect. For many people, this is how addiction begins.
Opioid Overdose Response Training: Naloxone is a prescription medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose to prevent death. Also known by the brand name Narcan, naloxone has been used more than 480 times this year. This is a major contributor to the number of lives saved when an overdose occurs. 33% of the time (at least 170 times this year), it is a family member, friend, or bystander who witnessed the emergency administered Narcan. Everyone can learn how to save a life by taking a quick, free class on how to identify signs of an overdose and administer naloxone.
Go to www.PreventSubstanceMisuse.org/narcan-training to register for free online training. All participants are issued a Narcan kit containing 2 doses of the life-saving medication upon completion of the course.
