Lansing area harm reduction organizations are reaching out to the public after the Ingham County Health Department reported a surge in overdose fatalities in a 50-hour period between March 1 and 3. The health department said five overdoses were reported during that period. Four of them were fatal.
The department said those statistics suggest that methamphetamine, crack and cocaine users may be taking drugs laced with fentanyl and xylazine, which might explain “a possible connection to the spike in overdoses.”
Some groups that provide services to people at risk say they’re seeing a jump in requests for fentanyl and xylazine test strips, as well as for the opioid reversal medication, naloxone or Narcan.
“Individual people just reach out through email or text messaging and ask if they can come in and pick up some. Yeah … that’s what we’re here for,” said Julia Miller, executive director of Punks with Lunch Lansing.
Miller says they’re also spreading the word to their clients about the surge in overdose deaths.
“[We] let them know that there’s been an increase and to be, you know, aware, to please pick up extra Narcan, pick up extra test strips, and be sure to use it,” she said.
Punks with Lunch Lansing is one of 20 area agencies that offer Narcan free of charge. Miller says she has been talking with other organizations about sharing their supplies of overdose prevention products to make sure there is enough to go around in light of the increased demand.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.