[ad_1]
Ten years after Sandy Nolan's death in San Diego is even worse.
Nolan was a featured speaker on Friday's unveiling of the county's annual update on drug-related death trends. She spoke tearfully about her Jerry's 2008 overdose death.
Nolan also told parents that it is very hard to detect the early signs of prescription drug abuse. She counseled them to prepare for a long, difficult and sometimes unsuccessful effort to help a loved one beat their addiction.
"And if you think about recovery, it's not," Nolan said. "My husband and I smell Jerry to rehab four times in a year and a half.
In San Diego county, prescription drug deaths increased by 27 percent.
While deaths from heroin actually decreased, the synthetic opioid fentanyl killed many more addicts.
According to the drug abuse report card, 84 people died from fentanyl last year overdoses compared to 33 deaths in 2016.
Fentanyl is especially dangerous, because it's 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and at least 25 times stronger than heroin.
That unpredictable potency causes more deaths from accidental fentanyl overdoses.
Drug users are also at risk from cocaine that has been spiked with fentanyl.
But Friday, Nolan and drug addiction counselors focused on prescription painkillers which they warned are a gateway to addiction and street drugs.
They urged parents to properly dispose of prescription drugs at drop-boxes throughout the country and like them on Saturday.
"There's no reason why somebody should not be sitting there," said Scott Silverman of the Safe Home Coalition.
Safe disposal and collection of prescription drugs started in San Diego County 2009 and the practice was adopted nationally in 2010. National Drug Take Back Day is Oct. 27, and you can locally participate in Sheriff's Department facilities.
The San Diego County Sheriff's department has been set up.
[ad_2]
Source link
