FREE NARCAN DISTRIBUTION UNDER WAY IN EAST COUNTY TO REVERSE OPIOID OVERDOSES

Anyone can pick up boxes from deputies and sheriff’s stations

Sheriff ’s deputies throughout East County and the region are handing out free doses of Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses amid a mounting death toll.

Residents can grab kits from any deputy or sheriff ’s station. Nearly 90 boxes have already been handed out just in Santee and Lemon Grove, officials said.

The nasal spray can revive somebody even after they’ve stopped breathing.

“It’s kind of incredible when you see it happen,” Sheriff ’s Lt. Pat Mcevoy, the head of Lemon Grove’s station, said at a recent council meeting. “It’s like they go from being dead one minute to wide awake.”

The sheriff ’s department launched the effort with county officials, who hope to annually distribute at least 33,000 boxes of Naloxone, the generic name for Narcan. The medication is being paid for with settlement money from drug manufacturers, officials said.

Chula Vista and National City are the only police departments to so far join the public distribution, but that roster could expand.

Officers in El Cajon and La Mesa do carry the medication to calls, agency representatives said.

The boxes are small, about the size of two decks of cards. Inside each are a pair of doses.

While one dose should be enough to reverse a standard opioid overdose, stronger drugs like fentanyl may require multiple sprays, Mcevoy said. “It’s crazy how powerful this stuff is.”

The danger isn’t just from obvious sources. A Los Angeles Times investigation recently found that some pharmacies in Mexico are selling counterfeit prescription medicine laced with deadlier drugs, including pills in Tijuana sold as oxycodone that tested positive for fentanyl.

Narcan does not require a prescription, and anyone can pick up a box, no questions asked. The only data collected by the sheriff ’s department will be the number of doses handed out and what ZIP codes they’re in, Mcevoy said.

Kits have already gone out to public works employees, school officials, faithbased and community groups and relatives of people who previously overdosed.

Residents will receive a pamphlet with instructions, including a reminder to call 911 after administering a dose because the medication wears off. There is no liability if it’s used correctly and no long-term damage if it’s mistakenly administered, Mcevoy said.

The Lemon Grove substation is located at 3240 Main St., and the Santee station is at 8811 Cuyamaca St.

DENIS POROY FOR THE U-T Narcan spray on display last month at a county news conference held to announce its free distribution.