drug overdose

During an 18th month period ending in 2009, the small city of Quincy, Massachusetts suffered 47 citizen deaths from accidental drug overdose. The victims spanned all ages, from young teens experimenting with drugs, to elderly folks who unintentionally mixed up prescription medications and habitual substance abusers. The incidence of an eighteen-year-old who overdosed on heroin marked the last straw and a group of parents, along with the Lt Detective Patrick Glynn of the Quincy Police Department, decided to do something about it. The group partnered with the Bay State Community Services to gain support from the mayor and the Chief of Police, and were able to convince the Massachusetts Public Health Department that overdose deaths were a major issue that needed attention. By early 2011, Quincy had become a case study in a new pilot program to train police officers on how to resuscitate overdose victims using nasal Narcan, an opiate reversal drug.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have increased fivefold since 1990, claiming the lives of 27,658 Americans in 2007. After motor vehicle accidents, drug overdose is the second leading cause of injury death in the United States. In 2009, there were approximately 1,000 fatal drug overdoses in North Carolina, and nearly one-half occurred in people under the age of 40.

Harm reduction programs can help to prevent overdose fatalities by conducting education with drug users on risk factors for overdose, signs of an overdose, and how to respond to save a victim.