{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Drug overdose deaths up in Mendocino County","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":386,"description":"October 24, 2022 — Drug overdose deaths increased dramatically last year, with the availability of ever more powerful synthetic and addictive drugs. Dr. Jeanine Miller, the director of the county’s Behavioral Health Department, told the Board of Supervisors last week that opioids and synthetic drugs are taking a heavy toll.*\r\n\r\n“We went from 43 (overdose deaths) in 2020 to 72 in 2021,” she said. Three additional people who died from overdose were determined to have intentionally committed suicide. “When we look at opioids as a whole, we’re looking at natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic. That’s our number one. If we separate that out, and just look at the synthetic, which is fentanyl, our number one overdose is actually methamphetamine, followed very close to fentanyl. We believe fentanyl would be actually the number one if it wasn’t for Narcan and Naloxone, and we continue to work on getting that in our community.” \r\n\r\nThe opioid blocker Naloxone was first approved as a fast-acting medication for opioid overdose in 1971. But Narcan, the nasal spray that can reverse overdose within minutes, only received tentative FDA approval in 2018, with final approval granted in April of the following year. Since then, it’s become a mainstay for first responders. A smattering of communities across the country have installed vending machines, where people can help themselves to a free box of Narcan. Some local organizations offer it for free to people suffering from drug addiction, and to their friends and family members.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday during Farmers Market, county, tribal, and non-profit workers set up tables in Alex Thomas Plaza in Ukiah to share information about drug overdose and treatment, and to spread the word about the rising death rate. \r\n\r\nLindsey Daugherty, the Executive Director of NAMI Mendocino, the local branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, spoke about what’s still being learned about Narcan. Some reports indicate that people who have overdosed...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}