* see sources below

ADDRESSING THE TWOFOLD EPIDEMIC OF RX PAINKILLER AND HEROIN ABUSE

Reducing Supply + Reducing Demand = Saving Lives

Someone in the U.S. dies of a drug overdose every 20 minutes – and the clock is still ticking. As overdose deaths exceed motor vehicle and firearm fatalities, as pills turn to heroin, the national epidemic continues to hit home in Stanislaus County. Prescription painkiller and heroin abuse, further compounded by a recent influx of illegal fentanyl, has created a public health crisis throughout our community.

The Stanislaus County Opioid Safety Coalition was launched in July 2018 to develop a targeted, local response to the escalating opioid epidemic, part of a nationwide crisis that crosses boundaries and demographics. Opioids have been the most widely-prescribed painkillers for many years, while heroin is an illegal street opioid that is lower cost for a comparable high. Both are extremely addictive, driving the transition for many prescription opioid abusers to the cheaper, more readily available heroin.

Stanislaus County’s opioid abuse response can be meaningfully focused through a supply-and-demand model first suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and tailored for our local conditions and needs. Reducing the supply of opioids while also decreasing the demand for them, will lead to a greater possibility of improving and saving lives.

We invite you to join us in connecting and enhancing resources to prevent and reduce prescription drug and heroin abuse. Together we can reduce opioid supply, reduce opioid demand, and save lives.

*Sources: In one year in Stanislaus County...

•  529, 832 prescriptions were given for opioids – California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard (CDPH); 2017
• 18 overdose deaths ocurred – California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard (CDPH); 2017
• 5 days of use may have led to dependence – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2017 
• 14,000 lbs. of medications were collected – Stanislaus County BHRS Drop the Drugs; 2009-2018 
• 1 in 3 people say they know someone addicted to opioids – American Psychiatric Association National Poll; 2018

*Sources: In one year in California...

•  21,787,042 prescriptions were given for opioids – California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard (CDPH); 2017
• 2,196 opioid overdose deaths – California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard (CDPH); 2017
  
• 80% of heroin abusers start with Rx opioids – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2013
• 1 in 7 11th Graders used Rx meds to get high – California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS); 2016
• 99% of world’s hydrocodone is consumed by the US – International Narcotics Control Board; 2007

 Adapted from Ventura County Behavioral Health / www.venturacountyresponds.org