Fentanyl still a problem in San Luis
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – The recent death of a teen is serving as a reminder of the threat of fentanyl in this city, even as the number of reported overdoses may be on the decline since 2020.
Fentanyl continues to account for most of the drug overdose cases recorded in San Luis, said Lt. Marco Santana, spokesman for the city’s police department.
“We have handled around 10 calls about overdoses so far this year,” Santana said recently, noting it’s too early to say what this year will be like.
Most recently, a 16-year-old girl was found to have overdosed April 10 in the 900 block of Hidalgo Avenue in San Luis.
“The girl was found in the street,” Santana said. “(Police) officers used Narcan (to revive her) but she didn’t respond. It’s suspected that the death was from an overdose, but we still haven’t received the toxicological report. But there’s no indication that there was another cause.”
The city saw its first fentanyl-related death on Feb. 6 when a 28-yearold man died of an overdose, Santana said.
San Luis recorded 44 overdoses and two deaths in 2020, and 29 overdoses and one death in 2021.
Santana said fentanyl circulates in a pill form that appears to be a legal medicine. In reality, it is produced in clandestine labs without any control over the quantity of the opioid in each pill, he said.
“Even the smallest amount of the opioid can be enough to kill a person,” he said.
The fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico, and Santana said it’s used throughout this country. However, it presents the biggest problem in border communities like San Luis.