BOULDER, Colorado – Boulder County health officials are warning of another batch of bad drugs making their way through the streets of Colorado.
In a press release issued on Saturday, the health department said that street drugs, linked to fentanyl, circulate in the community and lead to an increase in overdoses.
“Last night, I received a phone call from the mother of a young man who had overdosed and had just been with young people, people who were partying with Xanax,” said Trina Faatz of the Boulder County Substance Use Advisory Group.
Faatz said it was an ongoing issue.
“It’s not just Boulder County,” she said. “It’s Denver, Jefferson County, Weld County, it’s everywhere.”
Statistics show a huge increase in visits to the emergency room of the hospital in Boulder County related to opioid overdose during the pandemic.
From 2017 to 2019, there were an average of 14 visits per year, only in the 25-29 age group. Last year, there were 34 visits to the hospital. This is an increase of 143%.
“I had a friend who had a (drug) crisis,” said Hailey McCabe.
The CU student said that he reacted quickly, based on the training he received as a lifeguard.
“I protected her head and called 911,” she said.
Signs of overdose include:
- It does not respond to sound or pain, such as rubbing the sternum
- Don’t breathe
- Blue lips or fingertips
- Loud noisy sounds
Faatz said drug users should test them.
“Take a very small amount to get started,” she said, “and never use recreational drugs alone.
Faatz added that anyone using recreational drugs should have someone with Narcan nasal spray in addition to treating an overdose in an emergency.
Denver7 spoke briefly with several high school and college teenagers in the Boulder Hill area.
A 17-year-old man said he was carrying Narcan with him.
“My mother recently gave it to me to be safe,” he said, “because she heard about what’s going on in Boulder.”
Faatz said fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than opioids and that fentanyl drugs can kill you.
This is what happened to a CU student in 2017.
Madeline Globe bought a pill on the street, went to bed and never woke up.
Good Samaritan law
Faatz said the other really important thing for people to do, especially young people, is that if you call 911 to report an emergency drug or alcohol overdose, even to a law enforcement officer, the 911 system or a health care provider, it protects you from prosecution.
“It is much better for a young person not to have to live with the guilt of leaving a friend behind, but to call 911 and it can always bring into question the fact that they understand the law that protects them, which is the law of the Good Samaritan,” she said. said.