BOULDER, Colo. Boulder County health officials warn of a new batch of bad drugs hitting the streets of Colorado.
In a press release released Saturday, the health department said street drugs laced with fentanyl are circulating in the community and are leading to an increase in overdoses.
“Last night we got a call from the mother of a young man who had overdosed, and he’d just been with young people, people partying with Xanax,” said Trina Faatz of the Boulder County Substance Use Advisory Group.
Faatz said it is an ongoing problem.
“It’s not just Boulder County,” she said. “It’s Denver, Jefferson County, Weld County, it’s everywhere.”
Statistics show a huge increase in the number of emergency room visits to the Boulder County hospital in connection with opioid overdoses during the pandemic.
From 2017 to 2019, there were an average of 14 visits per year, only in the 25 to 29 age group. Last year there were 34 hospital visits. That is an increase of 143 percent.
“I had a friend who had a (drug-related) seizure,” said Hailey McCabe.
The CU student said she responded quickly based on the training she received as a lifeguard.
“I covered his head and called 911,” she said.
Signs of overdose include:
- Does not respond to noise or pain, such as sternum friction
- Does not breathe
- Blue lips or fingertips
- Loud gurgling noises
Faatz said people who use drugs should test them.
“Take a very small amount to start with,” she said, “and never use recreational drugs alone.
Faatz added that anyone using recreational drugs should have someone around who has Narcan nasal spray to treat an overdose in an emergency.
Denver7 spoke briefly with several high school and teenagers in the hillside area of Boulder.
A 17-year-old said he has Narcan with him.
“My mom recently gave it to me just in case,” he said, “because she heard what’s going on in Boulder.”
Faatz said fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than opioids, and fentanyl-laced drugs can kill you.
That’s what happened to a CU student in 2017.
Madeline Globe bought a pill on the street, went to sleep and never woke up.
Law of the Good Samaritan
Faatz said the other really important thing for people to realize, especially young people, is that if you call the emergency center to report an emergency dose of drugs or alcohol, even to a law enforcement officer, to the alarm system, or to a medical provider, it protects you from criminal charges.
“It is much better for a young person not to have to live with the guilt of leaving a friend behind, but to call 911 and they can always bring forward that they understand the law that protects them, which is the Good Samaritan Law. ” she said.