OFFICIALS COME TOGETHER FOR POLICY ROUNDTABLE ON FENTANYL

Overdose deaths have increased; feds included in talks

San Diego County saw a 16.7 percent increase in drug overdose deaths in 2021 over the previous year, local authorities said Friday.

Many of those deaths, they said, were caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin.

On Friday, elected officials on the local, state and federal levels met in San Diego to discuss ways to combat the growing fentanyl epidemic, which they say will include both enforcement and education efforts.

During a morning roundtable session, the group — which included county Supervisor Jim Desmond, District Attorney Summer Stephan, Escondido Mayor Paul Mcnamara and San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert — received updates from Drug Enforcement Administration narcotics officials, Homeland Security investigators, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and medical professionals on the effects of fentanyl.

The two-hour meeting was not open to the media, which Desmond said was to protect the privacy of some of the participants.

“These are sensitive issues, and these are agents that work directly in the field, and we want to protect them and their resources,” he added.

When the meeting was over, some participants answered questions from reporters and shared an update on overdose deaths linked to many kinds of drugs, including fentanyl. The data show 1,138 people died as a result of a drug overdose in San Diego County in 2021, a figure authorities said is still preliminary pending confirmation and will likely change as investigations are closed.

After the meeting, Rep. Darrell Issa, R., from the 50th Congressional District said the roundtable was one of the first opportunities for officials from all sectors to come together to exchange ideas and form partnerships.

“When you have all levels of government coming together, it makes it more likely that we’ll come up with policies that are more finetuned to solving the problem,” added Sen. Ben Hueso, D., who represents the 40th Senate District.

Desmond, whose district includes North County, said that response will require tackling both sides of the issue, meaning not only the supply, such as handling border enforcement, but also the demand, with education and prevention programs.

“Today’s discussion highlighted the urgent need for increased awareness about the deadly threat of fentanyl in our community, stronger laws and tools for prosecution of dealers whose pills lead to fatal overdoses, and enhanced prevention efforts to educate youth and parents that if the pill you’re taking didn’t come from a pharmacy, it could kill you,” Stephan said.

Authorities say people often buy drugs online or via social media thinking they are legitimate, however, many turn out to be counterfeit pills that contain dangerous and potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.