LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — An international event taking place on Aug. 31 is focusing attention on the preventable tragedy of drug overdose, which is impacting Lake County particularly hard.
International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held annually on Aug. 31 to honor those who have died of overdoses.
Earlier this month, the Lakeport and Clearlake city councils joined with Lake County Behavioral Health Services, the Lake County Public Health Department, and the agencies and organizations that comprise SafeRx Lake County to present proclamations marking the event.
It’s an especially important event for Lake County: In 2022, there were 79 people who fatally overdosed in Lake County.
Health officials reported that those deaths account for the highest fatal overdose rate in the state of California.
Ahead of the Aug. 31 commemoration, SafeRx Lake County hosted the third annual commemoration of International Overdose Awareness Day in Austin Park on Aug. 19.
The county of Lake reported that 105,258 people died due to overdose in the United States in 2022.
Almost 90,000 of those who died from overdose had fentanyl in their system, officials said.
Fentanyl is a potent and dangerous drug, and can be found in a variety of other narcotics. Officials said many who die from fentanyl overdose do not know they have consumed fentanyl.
Officials said all overdose deaths are preventable, and everyone is encouraged to have naloxone — also known as Narcan — on hand to prevent overdose, along with other resources that prevent overdose such as syringe exchange, drug testing, and medication-assisted treatment.
Experts said that addiction is a chronic, relapsing and treatable disease that should not be conflated with moral or personal failure yet continues to be the subject of stigma and marginalization.
Lake County has a syringe service program, Any Positive Change, which has been operating since 1995.
The California Department of Public Health approved Any Positive Change as a state-authorized syringe service program on Aug. 3. Any Positive Change can be reached at 707-480-7319.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
International Overdose Awareness Day puts focus on prevention, compassion
- Elizabeth Larson
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