Fentanyl suspected in inmate overdoses

SAN JOSE » Four Santa Clara County inmates who overdosed Wednesday most likely used fentanyl, an opioid pain reliever 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin, authorities said.

Music superstar Prince died of an accidental overdose last spring of the same synthetic drug, which users say produces a state of extreme relaxation and euphoria.

The four inmates found in medical distress Wednesday at the Main Jail were rushed to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center but have since been discharged.

“Based on a totality of the circumstances, we highly suspect the ingested substance to contain Fentanyl,” Sgt. Richard Glennon said in an email.

In response to the incident, the sheriff ’s Office on Friday will conduct an emergency training of 150 correctional officers on how to use naloxone, an emergency treatment sold under the brand name Narcan (among others) that blocks the effects of opioids and can reverse an overdose.

“Given recent events with a possible fentanyl exposure within our correctional facility, we are implementing this training right away,” Glennon said. “We anticipate getting approximately 150 deputies trained by the end of the day tomorrow with more training upcoming in the future.”

Fentanyl is cheap to manufacture, and Mexican cartels do so in their own labs, agents for the Drug Enforcement Administration have said. Heroin and other streets drugs are often laced with it as well. Even a small amount can be fatal.

Glennon said fentanyl is suspected in the overdoses based on witness statements, the inmates’ symp- toms and their responsiveness to naloxene, which jail medical staff used to speed up their respiratory rate.

Symptoms of overdosing on fentanyl include purple or blue lips, shallow breathing, seizures and throwing up.

Earlier this year, a police officer in Ohio got some of the white powder on his shirt after stopping a motorist who was transporting and later passed out after brushing some off his shirt.

Glennon said all staff involved in responding to the incident at the jail were contacted by the administration to see if they were experiencing any negative effects, but none were. About 18 staff members were sent by jail officials to a doctor Wednesday to be examined. All have since returned to work, Glennon said.

The investigation is still ongoing, but it appears the drug was smuggled into the jail, a source close to the investigation said.

In June, the county allocated about $1.9 million for up to seven full-body scanner machines and two portable scanners. The county also will spend about $860,000 in ongoing annual costs to hire five custody support assistants to run the machines.

The expense, contained in the fiscal year 2017-18 budget, notes that a bill passed nearly a year ago allows jails and prisons to use full-body scanners instead of a handson strip and body- cavity search.

Each search takes 8-15 seconds and allows staff to see concealed items such as narcotics and weapons without touching the inmate, potentially reducing the number of formal complaints known as grievances.

However, the purchase must go through normal procurement procedures, so actual installation is not expected until early next year.