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Overdose Prevention 101

BY NIKKI JEAN AND MORGAN GODVIN

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The Crisis

  • Record-breaking number of fatal overdoses
  • Fentanyl the main driver
  • Fentanyl can be a drug of choice or an adulterant
  • On-site overdoses are on the rise

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The Solution

  • All opioid overdoses are 100% reversible
  • Narcan works!
  • Fentanyl test strips can prevent overdoses by letting people know what’s in their drugs

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How to Recognize the Signs of an Overdose

  • https://www.tiktok.com/@kochinarude/video/7242116301781486891?lang=en
  • Unconscious and will not wake up
  • Not breathing, or breathing very slowly or raspy gasping
  • In lighter skinned people, their skin, especially their lips, will turn blue
  • In darker skinner people, look for grayness/ashiness
  • Time to administer!

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Rescue Breaths – The Air We Breath Out is Oxygenated!

  • An overdose is a crisis of breathing. Usually, the heart is still beating, if a little slowly. The person needs oxygen, but not CPR.
  • You can give rescue breaths!
  • Adjust their airway by tipping their head back, plugging their nose, and breathing in through their mouth.
  • 2 one second breaths to start, 1 breath every 5 seconds

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The Recovery Position

IF THE PERSON STARTS BREATHING AGAIN, OR YOU ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE RESCUE BREATHS, LAY THE PERSON ON THEIR SIDE IN THE RECOVERY POSITION

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Waking Up After an Overdose

  • After naloxone (brand name Narcan) has been administered, the person will wake up in 2-3 minutes.
  • Rarely, a second dose is needed. If the person hasn’t woken up in 2 minutes, apply a second dose.
  • The person will have no memory of their overdose and won’t know what happened.
  • People wake up disoriented. Re-orient them, speak gently, explain what happened.

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Like Magic

  • The person will show no signs of overdose or intoxication after waking up. It’s important to communicate to EMS that they were given Narcan.
  • Narcan is completely harmless, the only thing it does is pull opioids off the opioid receptors. It’s safe to administer even if it’s not an overdose.
  • If the person is dependent on opioids, they will start to experience withdrawal.
  • If the person is not dependent, which is common among people who took “oxy” or “Xanax” or did what they thought was cocaine, they won’t experience withdrawal effects.

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How to Use Fentanyl Test Strips

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Morgan’s Story

  • The struggle with addiction.
  • Artists that also publicly struggled with addiction.
  • Approaching Slug from Atmosphere.
  • Creating a first-of-its-kind overdose prevention program using the music industry and community.
  • As more and more ”recreational users” and experimenters overdosed, it became important to get naloxone and fentanyl test strips into more hands.
  • Overdose can happen to anyone. They don’t have to be addicted.

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The Music Industry as a Community

  • Hundreds or thousands of people gather together each night to hear a live show.
  • Within the crowd are a wide mix of people, some at high risk of overdose and others that don’t use drugs.
  • The music industry has historically been over-represented with addiction and overdose issues.
  • Can we leverage the community we create to save lives? YES!

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Year One to Year Two

We had great successes! Thousands of doses dispensed, documented overdose reversals.

We also experienced challenges.

Stigma.

Lack of awareness about the scope of the problem.

Patchwork of rapidly-changing laws.

Fentanyl test strips not legal everywhere, but huge progress has been made.

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We Can Save Lives.

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Going Forward

Work with local and national government to obtain clarification to indemnify private businesses offering naloxone and fentanyl test strips.

Establish pathways for public health resources to be allocated for use in music spaces.

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Work with industry professionals to establish best practices, and systems for implementation so resources are readily available when needed.

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