OVERDOSE DEATHS INCREASING

Investigators with the medical examiner’s office say drug-related overdose deaths are increasing across the nation including Northwest Florida. Street dealers often add additional drugs such as Fentanyl and Carfentanyl that are 100 times stronger than morphine and can quickly cause a fatal overdose. The medical examiner’s office says in 2017 there were 112 drug related drug deaths in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties and they estimate there have already been over 90 deaths in the first 7 months of 2018, which means there could be over 160 deaths in 2018. First responders can use Naloxone (“Nay-Lox-Own”) as a nasal spray to counteract the effects of an overdose, but only if they arrive soon enough.