Portsmouth police, fire chiefs: Opioid overdoses on the rise

Users are getting younger, too

By Jim McGaw
Posted 10/12/17

PORTSMOUTH — Police and EMTs are responding to more and more opioid overdoses and seeing younger users every year, according to Police Chief Thomas Lee and Fire Chief Michael …

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Portsmouth police, fire chiefs: Opioid overdoses on the rise

Users are getting younger, too

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Police and EMTs are responding to more and more opioid overdoses and seeing younger users every year, according to Police Chief Thomas Lee and Fire Chief Michael Cranson.

“I would say it’s in the top three of all the calls we go to,” said Chief Cranson, noting that there are “lots of multiple calls” to the same residence.


READ MORE: A small group of Portsmouth moms, some of whome have lost sons to opioid addiction, crusade for more local awareness of the problem.


“We’re definitely seeing — in this suburban community that’s even relatively well to do — that the opioid problem does not discriminate,” he said. “We’ve seen it across all age groups, from 12 to 70. We’re responding to a lot of overdoses and we have been for multiple years now. It’s crazy.”

EMTs are equipped with Narcan — one of the brandnames for Naloxone, a medication used to block the effects of opioids during an overdose. 

“When I was on ambulance 15 years ago, you could count the number of times you gave the drug Narcan on one hand. I think I’ve given Narcan about five times in my life and now they’re giving it out at least two or three times a week,” Chief Cranson said.

Chief Lee said opioid abuse is a nationwide epidemic.

“Every community is seeing it and dealing with it,” he said. “It’s definitely increased in the last couple of years, and we’re seeing more fentanyl. Since 2012 we’ve had 44 overdoses. Not all of them are fatal, but that’s what we’ve responded to. It’s definitely gone up.”

Fall River is “generally” the area where opioids are coming from, he said. “People are either going there and bringing it back or people from there are coming down,” he said.

Police are becoming more and more concerned with the number of high school students and other young adults who are succumbing to opioid addiction.

“Heroin used to be not a drug we’d expect young people to use,” Chief Lee said. “It was actually for older people — late 20s, into their 30s and 40s. That model seems to be changing and we’re seeing younger and younger people and that’s what concerns me about the high school; the age seems to be coming down.”

Due to the recent increase in overdoses, the department is trying to get more Narcan and is working with Ray Davis of the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition in making that happen through grant money.

“The fire department gets it resupplied from the hospital. They use injectable and we use the nasal,” Chief Lee said.

“I’m waiting for (Chief Lee) to give me an accounting on it,” said Mr. Davis. “We definitely have the funds and it’s specifically an opiate prevention grant.” 

Chief Cranson said although the cost of Narcan has increased “threefold” over the years, the fire department never runs out because it gets its supply replenished by local hospitals whenever the drug is administered. The cost of the medication is then billed to the patient’s insurance, he said.

Whenever EMTs revive a patient who’s overdosed, they set them up with a “recovery coach” at the hospital, Chief Cranson said.

“That’s when you’re most likely to have success in getting them to get help. We’re trying to be proactive,” he said.

Drug depository

People who are now addicted to opioids often started out by taking painkillers or other medications prescribed to a family member. In response, police are urging residents to purge outdated or unused prescription drugs from their homes before they get into the wrong hands.

“It starts with pills and stuff in the bathroom,” Chief Lee said. “You want to get that out of your house. You don’t want to leave it around. We always advise people to take a look and get rid of old prescriptions.”

The police station has a prescription drug depository, donated by CVS Pharmacy, in the lobby of its headquarters at 2270 East Main Road. Residents can dispose of their old prescription drugs there at any time, no questions asked.

“The only thing we do ask them is to follow the instructions on the depository. We’ve had people put syringes in there and liquids. Also, people were actually leaving (pills) in the actual prescription bottle. Your personal information is on that. They should just put it in a (clear) plastic bag and put it in there,” said Chief Lee, noting there are bags on top of the depository in case a visitor doesn’t have one.

Police hope to get a larger unit when the new police station is complete, but for now the program has been a success, the chief said.

“We’re overwhelmed with the amount of drugs being turned into us, which is a good thing. It’s not large enough to hold what we’re bringing in,” he said.

A special “drug take-back” event has been scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Portsmouth Fire Department, Portsmouth Police Department, The Moms Club, opioids substance abuse

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