Pubdate: Fri, 23 Oct 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Alma Fausto

DEPUTIES TO CARRY DRUG OVERDOSE KITS IN CARS

Some Orange County sheriff's deputies have started carrying 
anti-opioid drug kits in their patrol cars to help combat overdose 
deaths, which officials say have increased in Orange County.

Starting Oct. 7, deputies in three cities  Stanton, Mission Viejo and 
Laguna Niguel  are equipped with and trained to use naloxone kits, 
said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Officials chose one city from each of the department's patrol divisions.

Deputies will carry the kits as part of a six-month pilot Overdose 
Prevention Program. At the end, program officials will look into 
implementing it throughout the department's jurisdiction.

Naloxene hydrochloride is a prescription drug used, commonly in 
emergency rooms, to reverse the effects of narcotic drugs. Deputies 
believe it will be a way to more quickly treat people who have 
overdosed. It's administered through the nose of the patient.

"If (deputies) arrive before ambulances to the call, we can deploy 
(the drug) rather than having to wait for them," Hallock said.

Hallock said the need for the drug, called an opioid antagonist, has 
increased because the use of heroin and opioids is on the rise in 
Orange County.

In 2014, 70 percent of drug overdose deaths  263 of 376  were 
opioid-related, according to the Sheriff's Department. Heroin 
overdoses in Orange County have increased 84 percent from 2012 to 
2014, the department added.

The department has partnered with the OC Health Care Agency, which is 
in charge of distributing naloxone, training in its use and 
monitoring the program. The costs of the program are being covered by 
funds seized and forfeited by drug trafficking organizations during 
investigations.

Similar programs are in place throughout the country, including 
California, but the Sheriff's Department is the first agency in the 
county to replicate them.

"With this being an option we felt that this is an effective way to 
potentially decrease those" overdose deaths, Hallock said.
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