Two people every day.
In King County, fentanyl-involved overdoses kill two people in our community every day. Nationwide, fentanyl is involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide and other accidents.
Five people died on the 天美影视传媒 campus in Seattle during the past academic year after drug overdoses. While none of these individuals were formally affiliated with the UW, they were all part of our larger community, had potential, had loved ones and were cared about.
Fentanyl has proved dangerously difficult to recognize 鈥� and profitable to cut into other street drugs. A potentially lethal dose of fentanyl can be as little as two milligrams, equivalent in size to a few grains of salt. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if a substance is or contains fentanyl just by looking at it.
Today, on , we are asking the UW community to help save lives.
Here鈥檚 what you can do to reduce the risk of overdose:
- Only take medication prescribed by your doctor and distributed by a pharmacy. Counterfeit pills, including medicine purchased online without a prescription, are made to appear legitimate.
- with information from UW鈥檚 LiveWell office.
- If you or someone you care about is using substances such as opioids or stimulants, use fentanyl test strips: at Husky Health Center or .
- If you or someone you care about is using opioids, have naloxone (Narcan) on hand and know how to use it ready: You can have Narcan nasal spray mailed to you at no cost by the and (King County). also has Narcan nasal spray available for purchase (which may be covered by your health insurance) and a limited supply of free Narcan. Information about how to administer Narcan and respond to a drug overdose is available from the and at .
- If you suspect an overdose, call 911 right away. The Good Samaritan Law protects you and the overdose victim from drug possession charges. On the Seattle campus, all UWPD officers carry Narcan and are trained in its use.
- If you use and your use feels out of control, call the WA Recovery Helpline at 1-866-789-1511. . Medications are the first line of treatment and they both support recovery and reduce your chances of dying by at least 50%.
Improving the lives of people affected by drug use and addition
The UW is participating in national and local efforts to address drug use and addiction. and tracking .
The Institute鈥檚 research shows a sharp rise in deaths from synthetic opioids, the most common of which is fentanyl and its analogues, eclipsing heroin deaths in 2020.
We want everyone on our campus to go home safe every day. People in the United States are dying from fentanyl at alarming rates. and sharing them widely is a good first step in addressing this community-wide crisis.