A drug that contributed to more than 30,000 overdose deaths nationwide in 2019 has been found in street drugs in Boulder County.
Boulder County Public Health, in a news release sent Saturday, stated 30-milligram Xanax and Oxycodone pills tainted with fentanyl are being circulated in the county.
“Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, and significantly increases the risk of death from accidental overdose,” the health department stated in the release.
The drug is a synthetic opioid, a category of drugs that caused 36,359 U.S. overdose deaths in 2019 — nearly half of the 70,630 total overdose deaths, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“Each day in the United States, more than 100 people die as a result of drug overdose. Rates of drug overdose have increased dramatically in the past decade, with drug overdose surpassing motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death,” Boulder County Public Health stated in the release.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, can reverse the effects of a drug overdose from opiates, including heroin and prescription opiates, such as Percocet or Oxycontin, according to the release. Overdose prevention kits are available from Boulder County Public Health as well as some local pharmacies, without a prescription, the health department stated.
A map of pharmacies that carry Narcan is available at BoulderCountyNarcan.org. Videos of how to use naloxone are available at BoulderCountyWorks.org and on the OpiRescue phone app.
“While Naloxone (or Narcan) can reverse the effects of an overdose caused by heroin or other opioids, multiple doses may be needed if the potency of the drug is very strong,” according to the release. “Combining other drugs or alcohol with heroin increases the risk of overdose. The risk of overdose is higher when tolerance is low; tolerance decreases after even short periods of not using street drugs tainted with fentanyl.”
Trina Faatz of the Boulder County Substance Use Advisory Group in the release stated, “Anyone who may use street drugs, or knows someone who does, should keep Naloxone with them at all times. And, if possible, avoid using alone, or inform someone that they will be using.”
Signs of overdose, according to the release, include:
- Not responsive to sound or pain, such as a sternum rub
- Not breathing
- Blue lips or fingertips
- Loud gurgling sounds
