Police are investigating the death of an 18-month-old Santa Cruz girl as a potential fentanyl overdose. Law enforcement officials say, if confirmed, the situation is rare. Harm reduction and substance use disorder professionals agree.
opioid crisis
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Fentanyl in Santa Cruz, Part 3: Xylazine, an emerging deadly threat
As social services and medical providers struggle to deal with fentanyl overdoses, xylazine’s movement from east to west in the U.S. has spawned a new crisis in the making. “Xylazine creates all these other crazy issues like lesions and breaking down of the skin and tissue,” said EMS medical director Dr. David Ghilarducci. “It cuts off the blood supply in your skin, so the skin just dies like gangrene.”
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Fentanyl in Santa Cruz, Part 2: Fentanyl response, redoubling efforts as the crisis escalates
Santa Cruz’s record fentanyl-related death toll last year doubled the total for 2022. But are overdose deaths still worsening in 2024? We don’t know. The county’s coroner declined an interview with Lookout, and her office has not shared its latest statistics. Still, whether the current trend is up or down, the fentanyl overdose grows in […]
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Fentanyl in Santa Cruz, Part 1: With fentanyl deaths doubling, Coral Street is a ‘hot spot’
Last year, the synthetic opioid fentanyl claimed the lives of 133 people in Santa Cruz County. Fentanyl-related deaths doubled from the 66 recorded in 2022 and exceeded those who died in the county from traffic crashes, suicides and homicides combined, a grim statistic Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart revealed in a Facebook post in […]
Posted inLatest News
County’s plan for millions in opioid settlement unchanged by Supreme Court decision
The $26 million expected to funnel into Santa Cruz County over the next 15-18 years from civil suits against opioid distributors and pharmacies won’t be impacted by last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that upended a multi-billion-dollar settlement with Purdue Pharma, county officials said. In a narrow 5-4 ruling that did not fall along the […]
Posted inEducation
‘Fentanyl High’: Student filmmaker explores root causes of teen drug crisis
After a schoolmate was expelled for overdosing in class, student filmmaker Kyle Santoro began exploring the roots of the opioid crisis among teens and what was causing his fellow classmates to self-medicate. His film “Fentanyl High” screens Thursday at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz and May 15 at CineLux Green Valley in Watsonville.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Much of California’s homeless population is stuck in cycles of substance use. These strategies can help
Many Californians experiencing homelessness do not have access to the kind of care they need to overcome substance use disorder, which is almost always a significant barrier to finding stable employment or securing permanent housing. Kimberly Knopik, who has faced homelessness and issues with mental health and substance abuse, writes about what she’s learned.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
As $28M in opioid settlement funds begin to flow in, county, city of Santa Cruz working on how to spend it
As opioid settlement funds began rolling into counties across the country, Santa Cruz is readying to spend its allotment. In a matter of weeks, the county and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County will begin seeking proposals for projects from community-based organizations working to fight the ongoing opioid crisis.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘Nobody should be without a home’: Santa Cruz County marks record number of deaths of unhoused residents
122 unhoused people have died in Santa Cruz County over the course of 2023, with 61 of those deaths attributed to fentanyl-related accidental overdoses. While friends, family and community members gathered Thursday to pay respects, speakers also expressed the need for better access to housing, health care and harm reduction.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Health, law enforcement officials outline ever-deadlier toll of county’s escalating fentanyl surge
Law enforcement and public health data show the local opioid crisis persisting, and even worsening in some aspects. Despite some troubling trends, though, local programs to prevent overdoses and educate the public on the risks of fentanyl have become more accessible and common around the county.