Staff reports | Illicit fentanyl is taking lives at a startling rate across South Carolina, energizing local public health professionals to say raising awareness that the narcotic can be present in recreational drugs is key to protecting people from a tragic end.
“Mental health and substance use disorders are at the forefront of public health concerns around the nation, and we at DHEC — along with our many essential partners — are committed to stopping this disturbing trend in drug overdose deaths by connecting people with the help they need and deserve,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, public health director at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“We all have a role to play in ending the stigma surrounding substance use disorders and being a conduit for those who need help but can’t or won’t take those first steps to reach out.”
According to data released by the agency in February, the total number of drug overdose deaths in South Carolina from 2020 to 2021 increased by more than 25% — from 1,734 deaths to 2,168. By comparison in 2012, there were only 573 drug overdose deaths in the state.
But deaths from fentanyl occurred at a higher rate: “From 2020 to 2021, drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl increased more than 35% in South Carolina, from 1,100 to 1,494 deaths,” the agency said in a statement. “Fentanyl was involved in more than two-thirds of all opioid-involved overdose deaths in the state in 2021.”
Dr. Chanda Funcell, director of the Charleston County Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), specifically pointed the finger at illicit fentanyl. Legal fentanyl is a synthetic opioid regulated by the Food and Drug Administration approved as a pain reliever and anesthetic.
“Fentanyl is so pervasive now that it is in everything from [other] opioids, methamphetamines, cocaine, counterfeit pills and marijuana,” Funcell said. “Frequently, people are unaware that the substance they are using contains fentanyl.”
Sara Goldsby, director of the state DAODAS, agreed: “Other drugs are being laced with fentanyl — without the user’s knowledge — which can cause a fatal overdose even in a small quantity. If there is a possibility of coming into contact with an unsafe drug, it’s important to have naloxone on hand in case of an overdose.”
Big counties have bigger problems
Greenville, Horry and Charleston counties had the most number of people die from fentanyl overdoses with 194, 198 and 139 deaths respectively, according to a 2021 report.
“This is impacting so many individuals and families in our community,” Funcell said. “Countless people I talk to know someone who has an opioid-use disorder or has been impacted by an overdose. The opioid epidemic has crossed every single demographic.”
She said talking about the crisis with one another makes a huge difference.
“We all have an important role to play to help save lives in our community,” she added. “Opening up the conversation around the dangers of fentanyl will help … break down the stigma around substance-use disorders and treatment, which will in turn help reduce barriers for people needing help.”
The opioid epidemic’s impact
Charleston resident Kat Orr told sister publication Charleston City Paper this week that her daughter Isabella died in 2017 at the age of 23 from illicit fentanyl poisoning. Orr said her daughter struggled with a substance-use disorder following the extraction of her wisdom teeth, after which she was prescribed oxycontin as pain relief.
After her daughter’s death Orr started Izzy’s Army Facebook page to serve as an information hub for the community.
“I started this page to help make families aware of what is going on,” Orr said. “Izzy’s Army is in honor of my daughter, to be her voice and the voice of others who have been poisoned by illicit fentanyl. … I know Isabella is on this journey with me.”
College students warned to be super-wary
“There has always been an inherent health and safety risk when using illicit substances, but fentanyl is so lethal in such small doses that the risk has increased significantly,” said counselor Rachel Goulet, a alcohol and other drug outreach and prevention specialist at the College of Charleston.
The college offers Narcan training for faculty, staff and students that teaches participants how to recognize the signs of an overdose. Narcan, a life-saving medication formally known as naloxone, is an injectable or inhalant solution that is safe to use even if someone is not overdosing on narcotics.
Goulet said the college also is in the process of developing a fentanyl test strip distribution program and has conducted an awareness campaign over the last two years on the rise and risk of fentanyl to provide harm reduction tips and resources for students.
“Any student who uses an illicit substance [such as] cannabis, prescription pills not directly received from a pharmacy, cocaine, heroin, meth [and] MDMA (ecstasy or Molly) is at risk of fentanyl OD,” Goulet said. “One single use can be lethal. The notion of ‘experimenting with drugs’ and the relative safety of that has gone out the window with the introduction of fentanyl in the states.”
Depression, anxiety tie into substance-use issues
Mental health plays a major role in substance abuse, said Jennifer Brush, executive director of the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center. And one in five adults live with a mental health condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Untreated mental health issues [such as] depression [and] anxiety can lead to self-medication (drug and alcohol use),” Brush said, “which can then lead to even more severe health and other problems if untreated. Many people live with co-existing disorders (mental health and drug and alcohol issues), because they either don’t know where to go for help or the stigma around treatment is too great.”
She said it’s important people normalize talking about their struggle with a substance-use disorder and their need for treatment and recovery.
“Getting treatment is nothing to be ashamed of,” she said. “Mental health [related] alcohol and drug treatment is similar to treatment for diabetes, heart issues, etc., except it has to do with a different part of your body — your brain.”
Get connected to resources
If you are in a mental health crisis, call The South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) at 833-364-2274. Take the SCDMH self-check questionnaire at scdmh.net. The National Alliance on Mental Health has resources at nami.org.
State drug support specialists also help engage at-risk individuals with treatment and recovery solutions and its medication-assisted treatment program utilizes all FDA-approved medications to address opioid-use disorders, she said.
You can find locations with naloxone available at JustPlainKillers.com. Charleston Center’s helpline can be reached at (843) 722-0100. The statewide helpline for mental health and substance-use disorders is 988.
You can also visit recovery community organizations South Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition at SouthCarolinaHRC.org and Wake Up Carolina at WakeUpCarolina.org.
Chelsea Grinstead, a reporter with the Charleston City Paper, wrote the original version of this story.
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We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
Many States who accepted the Medicaid expansion have experienced positive results in addressing this problem. SC along with the other Conferdate States are the last holdouts, now down to 10, who ignore the practical ROI of investing $10 to get $100.
This drug took my grsndson at 28. Years of mental health and addiction un and out of rehabs. He had made his mind up he was done with all that. He had been home from his latest rehab almost a month. A so called friend sold him some Fentayl laced Xanax. One pill mostly Fentayl took him away from us. What’s so bad is that dealer is still alive breathing and walking the street. I don’t understand that! My grandson Zach Epps forever 28 loved and missed!