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The number of deaths from fentanyl poisoning accounted for a staggering 80% of fatalities from all opioids in 2021 in Santa Clara County, 12 times the number of fentanyl-related deaths in 2018, data from the county’s Medical Examiner-Coroner shows.
So far in 2022, from Jan. 1 through May 27, the number of deaths involving fentanyl accounted for 78% of all opioid-related deaths identified by the coroner’s office, according to the Medical Examiner-Coroner’s public dashboard.
The shocking rise in deaths from the powerful narcotic that is being taken recreationally has sparked a campaign by Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and the county’s Fentanyl Working Group to find ways to put life-saving medication and fentanyl test strips into the hands of schools, bars, restaurants and partner agencies.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its use has become a nationwide epidemic, according to the CDC.
Other drugs are cut with the cheaper and stronger fentanyl and its analogs, such as acetylfentanyl, furanylfentanyl and carfentanil. These drugs have a chemical structure like fentanyl but they require specialized toxicology testing and aren’t routinely detected. Some of these analogs are less potent, but some are stronger than fentanyl; carfentanil can be thousands of times stronger than morphine, according to the CDC.
Accidental fentanyl overdoses in the county have reached every community and every socioeconomic group. Males and females from 12 to 70 years old in nearly every city in the county have died from accidental overdoses. In the north county, fentanyl’s victims included residents of Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto. In April, a Los Altos High School student died from a “potential fentanyl poisoning,” according to Mountain View police; fentanyl claimed the life of a 12-year-old San Jose girl in 2020.
A Stanford University student died in January 2020 from accidental fentanyl toxicity after taking counterfeit Percocet, which contained fentanyl. Counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl were being smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico, the university warned the campus community later that same day.
The overall number of Santa Clara County deaths caused by opioids has increased 2.5 times since 2018, when 62 people died; in 2021, that figure spiked to 163. Fentanyl-related overdoses are responsible for the precipitous rise. Fentanyl deaths as a percentage of all opioid-related deaths have quadrupled in four years. In 2018, only 11 out of the 62 opioid-related deaths were due to fentanyl, or 18%. In 2021, fentanyl accounted for 132 of the 163 deaths or 81%, according to the coroner’s reports.
So far in 2022, 52 of 67 opioid deaths have been related to fentanyl; just 15 were caused by other opioids.
Alarmed by the rising numbers, on June 28, Chavez introduced a referral to the Board of Supervisors on behalf of the Fentanyl Working Group to direct county administrators to identify possible funding sources for Narcan and fentanyl test strips. Narcan is a prescription drug that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose in an emergency. Fentanyl test strips can detect the presence of the drug in pills, powder and injectables.
If funded, Narcan and the test strips would be made available to any local school, bar, restaurant or nonprofit and community organization that would like to have them on hand and could be distributed to anyone who wants them.
By making these life-saving products broadly available, the working group hopes to turn the tide against overdoses and deaths, said Bruce Copley, director at the county Department of Alcohol and Drug Services, during a June 27 press conference.
Ed Liang, a lead investigator on fentanyl with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, said during the press conference that the prevalence of mixing fentanyl with street drugs is “a time bomb.” But it’s known that a large number of overdoses have been saved with Narcan.
“Ultimately, it’s about access and making it available” along with the educational and informational work the county is doing in the schools, he said.
Young adults ages 18 to 25 as well as middle- and high-school-aged children are the group most affected by fentanyl, according to county data. Because of the prevalence of overdoses among younger people, the County Office of Education is currently developing policies for Narcan kits and fentanyl strips in the schools, Chavez said. Stocking Narcan and test strips would be decided on by the schools and it would not be required, she added.
Some parents might feel that making these tools available would encourage drug use, Chavez conceded. But the reality is that people are using illegal drugs, and they are overdosing in increasing numbers, she said.
“While we’re waiting for an ambulance, we don’t want to lose a child. Timing matters,” Chavez said.
On June 28, the supervisors unanimously approved the referral, which directs county administrators to return with their funding report on Aug. 16.
County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan lauded the decision in a June 28 statement.
“We are pleased that the County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the funding for the increased purchase and distribution of Narcan and for the ongoing Fentanyl prevention programming. The rise of opioid use in our county is alarming,” she said.
“Knowing that there will be resources available to help save a life gives me hope. The Santa Clara County Office of Education will continue to work in partnership with both the Fentanyl Working Group as well as with the schools in our county to ensure information, resources, and support are readily available,” she said.
‘The rise of opioid use in our county is alarming.’
Mary Ann Dewan, superintendent of schools, Santa Clara County
The county has also embarked on community and school educational programs to raise awareness about fentanyl. In May, it launched a pilot program of discussions with county leaders to be hosted at high schools to raise awareness. The Office of Education put out a flyer with vignettes from parents of students who died from fentanyl and opioid overdoses.
This year, the District Attorney’s Office’s annual poster contest focused on the question, “What is the Face of Fentanyl?” and asked students to illustrate how the fentanyl-overdose epidemic is affecting them and their community. Winners were awarded on July 18.
Santa Clara County isn’t alone in dealing with the rising problem. San Mateo County Health said it is also seeing a concerning increase in both fentanyl and overdose deaths.
On June 22, the San Mateo County Public Health, Policy and Planning Department issued an alert regarding an increase in overdoses after a spike in drug overdoses and deaths during the weekend of June 17 to June 20.
The suspected drugs included fentanyl and a combination of fentanyl and stimulants. The patients’ ages ranged from 23 years old to 44 years old. About 70% were male and 30% were female. Fifty percent of patients died at the scene. Fifty percent of cases occurred in the north county, 30% in the mid-county, and 20% in the south county. Half of the deaths were outdoors or in a vehicle and 50% occurred in a residence.
In 2020, the county had 118 overdose deaths, representing a more than 20% increase from 2019 when there were 98. Of the 118 overdoses, 81 cases tested positive for opioids; of those, 63 of cases tested positive for fentanyl, according to a 2020 San Mateo County Coroner’s report.
Parents, tell your children to consider this. People who sell illicit drugs get their product through extensive chains of criminals they don’t know. Your child’s drug pusher “friend” probably is a naive high school kid who is just trying to make some money who does not understand the risk he is taking with the lives of his fellow students. Help your child understand that the drug he gets from his “friend” may be laced with fentanyl that a criminal in the drug production and delivery chain has put in there. This is like playing Russian roulette. It is not worth the risk.
This is a conversation every family should have in a very frank way. Many people in the drug chain are very bad people, and they really don’t care that they are victimizing you for profit. Talk with your kids when they are very young–BEFORE the get to middle school–whether or not you think your child is a “good kid.” We did this with our kids. They never tried hard drugs once we explained the risks in the human chain, because they understood the risk. They took some other dumb risks as kids–but none that would kill them. I’m glad we had this conversation…and they (now adults) have told us that it made a difference. Please talk with your kids about uncomfortable subjects. In 6th grade they’ll say, “Mom, I don’t do drugs and my friends don’t do drugs.” Just say, “I understand and I’m glad to know that, but this is still a conversation we need to have so you can make informed choices going forward. Because you likely will be offered opportunity to try them at some point. I want to help you learn how to say no and why.” They’ll resist. Do it anyway. Their lives depend on it.
Illegal fentanyl is being manufactured in China and transported to Mexico for eventual distribution in the United States.
The Chinese manufacturers must be held accountable as well.
Our young adult son carries Narcan with him and has encouraged us to do the same. It’s available without a prescription. Hopefully we will never be in a position to use it.
The open border policies of the Biden administration are responsible for a large part of this. Just look at the recent fentanyl busts in San Diego where million s of dollars worth of the drug was confiscated by police in the largest drug haul ever. Think before you blindly vote for Progressives/Democrats in November and 2024. This can’t continue. Fentanyl overdose is now the number 1 killer of people ages 18-49 in the U.S. Time to put an end to this.
@Consider your options. Your comment was excellent! I have read dozens of accounts of parents of middle-class children who would have sworn their children never used drugs. These statements can be read in a newspaper after the child has died. It’s important to alert kids about this danger. And to say it in a way that’s not moralistic and “just say no”. The teenaged brain has not completed all its development. In a situation where peer pressure might cause the child to try a drug, a prior deep conversation about fentanyl deaths might be the thing that would have them refuse.
Some very pertinent and a disturbing questions for people who aren’t realists. The problem is not the dealers. It is the potential and actual addicts who attract dealers. Do we really need to support people who are so messed up that they crave opioids, and especially fentanyl? What are their benefits vs liabilities to the society and economy of Santa Clara County once they are addicts?
Sooner or later, Santa Clara County must apply cost-benefit analyses to addicts and other people with dysfunctional mental illnesses that force them to be highly dependent upon governmental megabucks. Government funding is finite, and it must be spent efficiently on those who benefit the rest of us best. “You can’t save everyone. Just save those who benefit society”.
Fentanyl is a potent & synthetic opioid that has gained popularity because opium cultivation has been outlawed in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
During the U.S. military occupation, Afghan authorities looked the other way because growing opium poppies is a very lucrative business.
Excellent reasoning William, now do Section 8 housing, Medicare and career crooks.
With all due respect to all parents, no parent knows for sure if their kids ever did drugs. You’re not with them 24/7/365. Talking to kids about drugs is obviously a good idea. If they’re going to do drugs, they’ll do them anyway.
The problem is the dealers and the addicts. They co-exist.
William Hitchens and John, sure, let’s reinstitute public hangings. Start with drug addicts and career criminals, then move to the poor who can’t afford our outrageous home prices, then Medicare recipients. Pretty soon, we’ll have an ideal citizenry of young, able-bodied, and rich Aryans! (Whoops, did I say that?)
What prompts people to turn to opioids and now fentanyl for recreational purposes?
Is it a genetic predisposition towards substance abuse?
Or did they get addicted while recovering from athletic injuries sustained earlier?
I suspect that the majority of drug addicts do not want to quit their habit (or lack the willpower) and this in turn perpetuates the problem.
One option might be to initiate mandatory SC County Public Health Department guardianships where arrested drug addicts are forcefully taken off the streets and placed into sanctioned detox centers for opioid/fentanyl, and methamphetamine addictions.
This concept would cost taxpayer dollars and could be presented to voters as a SC County Proposition/Initiative.
We are currently experiencing a major public health crisis.
COVID/Omicron, opioid/fentanyl addiction, and now monkeypox are running rampant throughout our country.
Opioid/fentanyl addiction and monkeypox can be easily avoided providing people resist temptation and exercise self-discipline.
The spread of COVID/Omicron presents a far more challenging and complex public health issue/problem.
Curtailing COVID should continue to receive first priority over easily preventable diseases and afflictions like drug abuse and monkeypix.
In response to Beatrice, I think addictive substances are by nature addictive. If one is in a hospital having a painful procedure I think physical dependence can occur rapidly. I had major surgical bone surgery years ago and they put in an IV with a morphine pump attached. I was supposed to hit the button every 3 hours. I refused to do it. The nurses kept saying I had to, to “stay ahead” of the pain. I wasn’t feeling pain so I wouldn’t smash the button. I think the nurses favor the pump because it keeps the patient quiet and thus, makes fewer demands. I wasn’t there to make the nurses happy I was there to get my parts fixed. I didn’t hit the pump, and I didn’t fill the prescription for opioids after, either. I only took ibuprofen.
I thought fentany was a tightly controlled substance. I don’t know how dealers get it in such quantities that they use it as an additive in whatever they’re brewing up. I do know of one friend’s child who was getting high at a party and went unconscious. EMT’s couldn’t revive her and the coroner said it was fentanyl poisoning. If just “talking to your kids” was enough, this kid should have never died. Her parents are up front about their own addictions, and are both in recovery. It’s just tragic to go to a funeral for someone who’s parents talked about the risks of drug use every day of their kids’ lives. Here one day, a lively and vivacious young person with nothing but good things ahead, the next day everyone is mourning a tragic loss. I don’t know if there’s a logical answer to the fentanyl question.
“…I think addictive substances are by nature addictive”.
^ Doesn’t that go without saying?
Painkillers affect & impact everyone differently.
Like MyFeelz, when I was in the hospital recovering from surgery, I was also being administered morphine via an IV clicker.
It didn’t work for me & so I requested (and was approved for) an ibuprofen IV.
The ibuprofen was far more effective.
Some people/patients get their ‘kicks’ from codeine, Vicodin, Percocet etc. but it doesn’t work that way for everyone.