Because the rate of fentanyl-related overdose deaths remains high in Clark County, the Southern Nevada Health District is providing harm reduction tools, such as test strips, free of charge.
Fentanyl can be deadly in small doses and is sometimes mixed with other stimulants, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, without the user's knowledge.Health officials warn: For people who do not use opioids regularly, using stimulants containing fentanyl increases the risk of overdose.
Fentanyl testing trips can detect trace amounts of the substance. Nasal naloxone, better known by its brand name Narcan, can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Both are available free of charge at the Southern Nevada Health District, 280 S. Decatur Blvd.
of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention They point out that the synthetic opioid known as fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
Clark County had 97% of cases. Increase in deaths For mixing fentanyl with methamphetamine or cocaine from 2020 to 2023, according to SNHD. Clark County had 144 deaths last year, and 73 in 2020.
Similar trends can be seen nationwide.
Fentanyl-related drug overdose deaths increased nearly 300% nationwide between 2016 and 2021, according to the health district.
Of the 108,000 drug overdose deaths from August 2021 to August 2022, 70% involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
We are also distributing the Nevada Opioid Measures test strip All of Nevada.
In addition to nasal naloxone, an injectable version of the drug is also available free over-the-counter in the Trac-B Impact Exchange Harm Reduction program for people 18 and older. Public Health Vending Machines Across Southern Nevada:
- Tim Care, 916 Owens Ave.;
- Southern Nevada LGBTQ Center, 401 S. Maryland Parkway;
- Behavioral Health Center. 3050 E. Desert Inn Road;
- Behavioral Health Center. 3470 W. Cheyenne
