More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle. That number has more than doubled since 2015. To better understand the scope of the overdose epidemic, the Chronicle created a tracking system.”This information is crucial and is needed in every single jurisdiction across America because it is not only a San Francisco issue but a U.S.-wide issue,” said Yoohyun Jung, SF Chronicle’s deputy data editor.The database shows the overdose death rate in Sacramento County was 3.7 per 100,000 residents in December 2022. While that was lower than many other California counties, it was higher than the rate for the state and the nation.More and more, those deaths are related to fentanyl.”We are definitely still a hub for methamphetamine use. Now what we’re finding is the methamphetamine is cut with fentanyl as well,” WellSpace Health CEO Dr. Jonathan Porteus said. “So, we have folks coming in for a meth detox, who are coming into our crisis receiving site, who are super intoxicated on methamphetamine but what we’re finding is that actually under it is fentanyl.” That is why, he said, people entering detox get tested to determine exactly what drugs are actually in their system.The data also show nationally and locally in Sacramento County that overdose deaths are highest among the American Indian population.”I was a bit surprised. The numbers are a bit higher than we had anticipated,” said Nathan Blacksmith, the chief traditional health officer at the Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC).He said, while SNAHC is an active participant in combating the problem, the numbers prove there is still more work to do. A sentiment WellSpace Health echoed as well.”We need more. We still need more residential rehab. We still need more opportunities to get into outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment. That is being built. A lot of people are trying to move quickly to create that capacity, but that’s another reason people are lingering and OD’ing because there is less access to treatment,” Dr. Porteus said.Both WellSpace Health and SNAHC also mentioned the importance narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle.
That number has more than doubled since 2015. To better understand the scope of the overdose epidemic, the Chronicle created a tracking system.
“This information is crucial and is needed in every single jurisdiction across America because it is not only a San Francisco issue but a U.S.-wide issue,” said Yoohyun Jung, SF Chronicle’s deputy data editor.
The database shows the overdose death rate in Sacramento County was 3.7 per 100,000 residents in December 2022. While that was lower than many other California counties, it was higher than the rate for the state and the nation.
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More and more, those deaths are related to fentanyl.
“We are definitely still a hub for methamphetamine use. Now what we’re finding is the methamphetamine is cut with fentanyl as well,” WellSpace Health CEO Dr. Jonathan Porteus said. “So, we have folks coming in for a meth detox, who are coming into our crisis receiving site, who are super intoxicated on methamphetamine but what we’re finding is that actually under it is fentanyl.”
That is why, he said, people entering detox get tested to determine exactly what drugs are actually in their system.
The data also show nationally and locally in Sacramento County that overdose deaths are highest among the American Indian population.
“I was a bit surprised. The numbers are a bit higher than we had anticipated,” said Nathan Blacksmith, the chief traditional health officer at the Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC).
He said, while SNAHC is an active participant in combating the problem, the numbers prove there is still more work to do. A sentiment WellSpace Health echoed as well.
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“We need more. We still need more residential rehab. We still need more opportunities to get into outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment. That is being built. A lot of people are trying to move quickly to create that capacity, but that’s another reason people are lingering and OD’ing because there is less access to treatment,” Dr. Porteus said.
Both WellSpace Health and SNAHC also mentioned the importance narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.