Media Resources about Harm Reduction
DAP Health issued a press on January 18, 2021
DAP HEALTH ROLLS OUT HARM REDUCTION PROGRAM TO PROVIDE CARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH ADDICTION
This Spring, DAP Health will unveil its harm reduction program that will have two components. First, overdose prevention, and secondly a Syringe Services Program (SSP) that will include health services and behavioral health support to combat the rise in preventable overdoses and the increase in new HIV cases.
The multi-layered program will focus on education for the community, HIV and Hepatitis C testing, distribution, and collection of syringes and referrals to support folks through their addiction journey.
Program approved Jan. 10, 2022, by the California Department of Public Health
We will continue to update this page as a resource for media covering this topic.
DAP Health's Harm Reduction Program Includes:
Education:
- Overdose Prevention
- Safer injecting
- Risk Reduction counseling
- Education to community partners, clinics on Harm Reduction
- Free HIV/HCV testing
- Fentanyl strips for testing drugs before use to decrease the likelihood of overdose
Equipment:
- Provide new syringes and intake/dispose of used syringes
- Cottons, cookers, tourniquets, and other new injecting supplies
- Safer sex kits; condoms, lube
- Safer smoking kits
- Naloxone/Narcan to reverse overdose and prevent death
- Phone number and email to DAP Health for the community to report used syringes that need to be picked up and disposed of, or to request education related to harm reduction strategies at [email protected] or 760 992-0453.
Referrals:
- To DAP Health’s peer support specialist
- To Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) for anyone with HIV and/or Hepatitis C for treatment
- To local recovery and treatment centers
- To substance use counselors
- Insurance enrollment and connection to health care and other social support services
- To DAP Health’s Sexual Wellness Clinic for STI testing and/or PrEP
- Food and housing
List of all Syringe Services Programs (SSP):
- 39 California
- 473 nationally
Fentanyl Facts:
The number of overdose deaths over a 12-month period between 2020 and April 2021 was 100,000. Of those overdose deaths, 75,673 were from an opioid overdose. During that same period a year ago, there were 78,056 deaths, with 56,064 from opioids, according to the CDC. Source: CDC
Two milligrams of fentanyl can be potentially lethal. For comparison purposes, it takes 5,000 milligrams to make a teaspoon. Source: Riverside County
Fentanyl is 80-100 times more potent than morphine.
Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin
Pharmaceutical Fentanyl – Prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer
Illicitly Manufactured Fentanyl (IMF) – Distributed through illegal drug markets, it’s popular for its heroin-like effects. It’s often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes the drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous. It can be found in both powder and liquid forms.
Powdered Fentanyl –Powdered Fentanyl is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and made into pills to resemble other prescription drugs. Because of this, people can be unaware their drugs are laced with fentanyl.
Liquid Fentanyl – It can be found in nasal sprays, eye drops, and dropped onto paper or small candies.
Street Names for IMF Include:
- Apache
- Dance Fever
- Friend
- Goodfellas
- Jackpot
- Murder 8
- Tango & Cash
Signs of Fentanyl Overdose
- Small, constricted “pinpoint pupils”
- Falling asleep or losing consciousness
- Slow, weak, or no breathing
- Choking or gurgling sounds
- Limp body
- Cold and/or clammy skin
- Discolored skin (especially in lips and nails)
What to do if you suspect an overdose
- Call 911 immediately
- Administer naloxone if available
- Try to keep the person awake and breathing
- Lay the person on their side to prevent choking
- Stay with the person until emergency assistance arrives
*Most states have laws that may protect a person who is overdosing or the person who called for help from legal trouble.
** Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose and save lives. It is available in all 50 states and can be purchased from a local pharmacy without a prescription in most states.
Why Test for Fentanyl?
Drugs may contain deadly levels of fentanyl, and you wouldn’t be able to see it, taste it, or smell it. It is nearly impossible to tell if drugs have been laced with fentanyl unless you test your drugs with fentanyl test strips.
Test strips are inexpensive and typically give results within 5 minutes, which can be the difference between life or death. Even if the test is negative, take caution as test strips might not detect more potent fentanyl-like drugs, like carfentanil.
Harm Reduction in the Media
OCT. 27 CDC Press Release on Eduction Campaign to Combat Overdose
November 17, 2021, CDC Press Release on 100,000 Deaths in the past year.
Other Resources
Instructions on Narcan when someone ODs
What is an Opioid Overdose Emergency