Though fentanyl grabs headlines, heroin use is rampant in SJ County

Most users in the county are ages 60-69, official says

Although fentanyl usage and overdoses are on the rise in San Joaquin County, health officials said this week that they have seen more cases involving heroin than any other drug in recent years.

Betsy Pettis, San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services deputy director, shared overdose and treatment statistics to the board of supervisors Tuesday afternoon as part of her department's Substance Use Disorder System of Care presentation.

The county's SUD System of Care provides a continuum of services varying in intensity for those seeking treatment to combat drug addiction.

Pettis said that according to data from the California Outcomes Measurement System, the state's collection and reporting system for substance use disorder treatment services, her department saw 8,205 heroin cases come through its doors in fiscal 2023.

The department treated 4,189 people for “other” opioids and synthetics — which included fentanyl — and 1,150 people for ocycodone and oxycontin problems, she said.

The majority of heroin users in the county are ages 60-69, Pettis said, with SUD system treating 3,284 people in that age group, followed by 2,425 people in their 50s.

People ages 40-49 were prone to using other opioids and synthetics, with 2,481 being treated in the SUD system. Some 1,705 people in their 30s also were treated for addiction to other opioids, Pettis said.

“Basically what we're trying to paint a picture of is clearly, it doesn't matter what age group is coming to us, or what their substance of choice is,” she said. “One thing to keep in mind is that some people can have more than one treatment period, so some of these numbers may be duplicates.”

There were 113 deaths related to opioid overdoses across the county in 2022, Pettis said, along with 315 emergency department visits and 93 hospitalizations.

In addition, some 307,768 prescriptions for opioids were written that year.

People ages 30-34 had the highest rate of deaths related to opioid overdoses at more than 30 per 100,000 residents, Pettis said.

The 95237 ZIP code, which includes Lockeford, also experienced more than 30 deaths per 100,000 that year, the second-highest number in the county.

The 95240 ZIP code, which includes Lodi east of Ham Lane, Victor and a small portion of Lockeford, had the fifth-highest rate in the county at more than 25 per 100,000 residents.

The 95242 ZIP code, which includes Lodi west of Ham Lane, had the 13thhighest rate with more than 15 deaths per 100,000 residents, Pettis said.

The county average was 15 deaths per 100,000 residents, and the state average totaled about 20 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2022.

Supervisor Robert Rickman, who represents Tracy, said that the need for substance abuse treatment is something the board has been discussing for a few years.

“This is why the board is spending tens of millions of dollars fighting to make sure we have substance use treatment facilities and the medication to go along with it,” he said. “I hope people realize this board is on the forefront of this and we're working to get more beds, more treatment.”