An image comparing the lethal dosage of opioids including fentanyl is displayed during a press conference at Metro Headquarters Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021.
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022 | 2:28 p.m.
The Southern Nevada Health District is warning about the dangers of fentanyl after four overdose deaths around Las Vegas last month.
Fentanyl deaths are on the rise in Clark County, with 110 fatal overdoses between January and July, the Health District said. Clark County recorded 225 fentanyl deaths last year and 191 in 2020.
Of 1,412 lethal opioid overdoses between January 2018 and July, 653 — or 46% — were blamed on fentanyl.
Young adults are at highest risk of a fatal fentanyl overdose, with the most susceptible groups between ages 20 to 34, the district said.
“We want everyone to be aware that fentanyl is continuing to take a toll on [the] community,” said Fermin Leguen, the district health officer.
Fentanyl is a man-made opioid up to 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to two grains of salt, could be lethal, Health District officials said.
People are often unaware the drugs they are taking have been mixed with fentanyl, officials said. It is often pressed into counterfeit pills and sold as Percocet, Xanax or oxycodone, officials said.
Metro Police said they responded in August to three people overdosing from fentanyl on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
The victims, who were lying motionless on the floor, survived after officers administered an antidote called Narcan.
The victims reportedly thought they were snorting cocaine, which was actually fentanyl, according to a video released by Metro Police.
More than 56,000 people in the U.S. died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is more than 18 times the number who died in 2013.
The Health District recommends that people at risk of opioid overdose and their family or friends carry Narcan, which can reverse opioid overdoses. The district also distributes free test strips that can show if fentanyl is present in a pill or powder.
“In addition to raising awareness about the risks of synthetic opioids, residents should know that there are resources available to them that can help prevent a fentanyl or opioid overdose,” Leugen said.
