There's a sense of hope on the horizon for people on the frontlines of San Diego County's opioid epidemic now that the numbers appear to be dropping. Some of that credit is given to getting Narcan in the hands of more people.
A Narcan vending machine is located at the McAlister Institute in Chula Vista. It’s one of at least 16 across San Diego County. These machines are just one of many ways the county and its partners have been working to get the opioid overdose reversal medicine into as many people's hands as possible.
“It’s one thing to know that there is a magical and lifesaving drug out there, and it's a different thing to actually be able to access it," said Marisa Varond, CEO of McAlister Institute, a facility that provides a full continuum of services for people with addictions.
Learn more about the impact of the fentanyl crisis on local communities in NBC 7’s in-depth project "Poison Pill: San Diego's Battle With the Fentanyl Crisis." Watch here.
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Addiction experts credit access to Narcan for causing a drop in overdose deaths, along with other harm reduction strategies, such as making fentanyl testing strips more widely available and education campaigns, like the billboard that went up in Lakeside.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, deaths from opioid overdoses fell a little more than 10% from April of 2023 to 2024.
In San Diego, overdose deaths dropped about 7.5% between 2022 to 2023 — from 1,300 to 1,200 — according to data from the San Diego County Substance Use and Overdose Prevention Task Force Annual Report Card.
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“Overdose deaths are preventable. The hope is that we get to a place where we are celebrating because there are zero. I think for now, our call to action is to continue to raise awareness and to make sure that treatment is readily available when folks are ready," Varond said.
Tara Stamos-Buseig is effusive in her praise of Narcan’s role. It's why the Harm Reduction Coalition CEO has also been instrumental in getting more than a dozen Narcan vending machines installed across the county.
But there's another trend fueled by fentanyl-related deaths that's caught her attention.
“People are also changing the way they use drugs,” Stamos-Buseig said.
She says that change includes users looking out for each other, ready to administer Narcan, in addition to being more measured in their drug use.
"We have individuals who are measuring their dose. So maybe they buy a certain amount, and they know that this much is how much I overdosed on last time, so let me decrease the amount that I'm going to use today," she explained.
A change in behavior and a game-changing medicine are among the harm reduction strategies yielding lifesaving results.
