BOSCOBEL - Boscobel police officers prevented an overdose death last week when they administered Narcan on a 911 call.
Officers Travis Dregne and Sid Kirschbaum were dispatched on a medical call to assist a person who was nonresponsive, according to Chief Jaden McCullick.
“This individual was basically dead when they got there,” said McCullick. “They quickly realized it was an overdose, probably opioid. They administered two doses of Narcan right away, and another one shortly after,” he said. The emergency personnel administered a fourth dose when they arrived to transport the person to the hospital. “Ultimately the person ended up making it.”
Narcan is the brand name of a drug called naloxone that blocks the brain receptors that respond to opioids. It can stop an overdose in its tracks.
Dregne and Kirschbaum, like all Boscobel police, carry Narcan as part of their standard gear.
“This is the first time we’ve ever had to use it,” said McCullick. “Hopefully it will be the last.”
Local scope
Like the rest of the state and country, the Boscobel area has seen an increase in opioid overdoses, although our low population density tends to hide the trend.
The main factor is a growing abundance of illegally manufactured fentanyl, a superstrength pain killer originally intended for extreme conditions like cancer. The drug is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC). Ingesting just a few milligrams of the dust is enough to kill.
“Across the state and across the nation, you’re seeing meth mixed with fentanyl, you’re seeing marijuana mixed with fentanyl,” explained Grant County Sheriff Nate Dreckman. Many who overdose on fentanyl do so without even knowing they’re taking it in the first place, he said.
The CDC reports statistics on overdoses every four months for different types of illegal drugs and the numbers truly demonstrate the scope of the epidemic. Five years ago, ‘synthetic opioids’—those made in a legal or illegal laboratory— accounted for 35 percent of all Wisconsin’s opioid deaths. Today, they account for 91 percent. And while deaths from heroin actually declined tributed to synthetics grew by more than 300 percent.
Accidental deaths
McCullick cautions that it’s not only addicts who overdose.
“It could be an elderly person who accidentally overdoses on a fentanyl patch for pain, or a child that gets into some medicine by accident,” he said.
At the Boscobel Pharmacy, anyone with an opioid prescription is encouraged to also get Narcan, just to be on the safe side, according to owner Michelle Farrell. “We never know how someone might react to a drug,” she said.
No prescription is necessary for Narcan, and most insurers cover the drug. Farrell says the pharmacy is connected to resources and programs to help cover the cost for uninsured people or those at risk of overdose.
“We have the ability to dispense Narcan with no questions asked,” she said. “We’re just trying to take care of our patients and our community, and make sure everyone stays safe.”
Drug control
Sometimes an opioid prescription can make you a target for theft. “We hear of items getting stolen,” said Farrell. “It’s a difficult situation.” The pharmacy sells lock boxes for safer storage.
Another risk that comes with a prescription is becoming addicted. As many as one third of those on an opioid prescription misuse them and 10 percent become addicted from a prescription, according to data from the Mayo Clinic. An older study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids before turning to heroin.
Old, unused prescription medication can be disposed of at Elderfest, which takes place Friday, Oct. 28, 9-11:30 a.m., at the Youth and Ag Building in the Grant County Fairgrounds. @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝";}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
