The migration of fentanyl into illicit stimulants such as cocaine is especially dangerous for people who are not regular opioid users. That’s because they have a low tolerance for opioids, putting them at greater risk of an overdose. They also often don’t take precautions — such as not using alone and carrying the opioid reversal medication naloxone — so they’re unprepared if they overdose.
opioid crisis
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Fewer California workers were dying on the job. Then fentanyl happened
Employers and unions are grappling with the opioid crisis, while the state inches toward requiring Narcan in workplaces.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
First funds from opioid settlement will go to Santa Cruz County nonprofits
The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency’s Behavioral Health Division and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County have announced the recipients of the first $810,000 of the $28 million that will flow into the county over the next 18 years as a result of a lawsuit against opioid distributors, manufacturers and pharmacies for their roles in the ongoing opioid addiction epidemic.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California voters consider tough love for repeat drug offenders with Prop 36
Proposition 36, on the November ballot, would unwind portions of a 2014 initiative that reduced most shoplifting and drug possession offenses to misdemeanors that rarely carried jail time. The ballot measure comes as concerns about mass incarceration give way to public anger over property crime and a fentanyl crisis that has plagued the state since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Input sought on Santa Cruz County distribution of syringes, Narcan
The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is seeking public comment on a “county-wide, low-barrier, evidence-based Mobile Outreach Program” that would distribute Narcan and sterile syringes and assist with wound care to reduce overdose deaths and illness among drug users.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
On International Overdose Awareness Day, family and survivors stress fentanyl’s threat to Santa Cruz County
Local health care providers, harm reduction advocates and survivors gathered on International Overdose Awareness Day on Friday to hand out information and potentially life-saving medication in Watsonville. Attendees heard from those working to combat the opioid crisis, as well as those who have been directly affected.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County fentanyl deaths are down, but public health officials express caution about the trend
While Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office data points to a decrease in fentanyl-related deaths so far in 2024, public health and harm reduction professionals think it might be too early to confidently say if this trend will continue. They point to a number of actions that could be contributing to better outcomes — as well as the gaps in response that remain.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Departing Sheriff Jim Hart defiant over grand jury criticism and a non-elected successor, says worst of fentanyl crisis yet to come
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart will step down in December after 10 years on the job. Hart sat down with Lookout for a one-on-one conversation about his career, accomplishments, criticisms he’s faced and the state of law enforcement in Santa Cruz County in 2024.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Santa Cruz County warns of uptick in supply of ‘tranq’ fentanyl mix
Santa Cruz County public health officials on Thursday issued a warning about an uptick of xylazine in the area’s illegal drug supply. When combined with fentanyl, the sedative typically used on animals as a pain reliever, is known as “tranq.”
Posted inLatest News
Before Santa Cruz infant’s death from possible fentanyl exposure, friends and family expressed worry
At a court appearance Wednesday for 38-year-old Korisa Woll, friends and family who know her and her recently deceased 18-month-old daughter – called “Baby Z” in court documents – say they had worried about the child’s safety for months before her death from possible fentanyl exposure. Woll has been charged with murder in her daughter’s death.