KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) says that they responded to over a dozen overdoses from fentanyl in the last 24 hours, including six overdose deaths from the drug.
KDPS is blaming it on what they are calling a "deadly batch of fentanyl in our community."
The overdoses are related to multiple substances including fentanyl, cocaine or an unknown substance.
"It is an important public health message for folks, for people who use drugs, to hear that there may be something new in the drugs they were consuming that they weren't aware of or multiple drugs being present at the same time," said Dr. William Nettleton - Medical Director, Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services.
The Executive Director of the COPE Network in Kalamazoo says a key factor to preventing overdose deaths is to never use alone.
"If somebody's using with somebody else, there should be a designated driver," said King. "Somebody who's going to keep an eye on people to make sure they're okay. We also teach people to use cautiously because it's such a toxic drug supply right now, what somebody gets today may be different than tomorrow or the next day."
King says society must recognize drugs and alcohol aren't going to go away so reducing harm means keeping people healthy and alive long enough to get treatment.
"We want people to feel comfortable to call 911 and to administer Narcan and have an opportunity to save a life. But also to stop the shame, blame, and judgment that occurs for people using drugs and substance use disorder."
KDPS and the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team are actively investigating the recent and alarming string of overdoses.
Anyone with information on illegal drugs is encouraged to call Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100 or submit a tip online here.
Fentanyl is a federally approved powerful synthetic opioid that is used in pain relief and anesthesiology. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency says that the drug is 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.
Fentanyl can come in powder, pill and occasionally in liquid forms. Other drugs have also been found to be laced with the drug.
If you or a family member is being impacted by substance abuse, please reach out to one of our partners at Integrated Services of Kalamazoo (ISK) at (269) 373-6000 or Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health at (800) 781-0353.
To help combat overdose deaths from opioids like these, the United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved the over-the-counter sale of Narcan, a drug used to reverse the effects of opioids.
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