The Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida will hold an event in conjunction with a national day of recognition to help break the stigma of addiction and the use of Narcan.

National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention Day will be marked in Lee County with a call for 100 community volunteers to be trained as “Narcan Warriors.” This event takes place Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. at Kimmie’s Recovery Zone. Sponsored by Drug Free Lee and Kimmie’s Recovery Zone, it is free and open to the public, with no reservations needed.

“We’re continuing to hear stories of families who have been affected by fentanyl, and it’s heartbreaking,” said Executive Director of Drug-Free Lee, Deborah Comella. “So when we have an opportunity to train people in the use of Narcan, which we know is efficient and saves lives, we have to take advantage of that opportunity. With National Fentanyl Awareness Day coming up in August, we felt that was an opportunity to shine the light on how important Narcan is in our community and get people trained.”

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, has emerged as a major contributor to the staggering number of drug deaths across the United States, killing more than 70,000 people in 2022 and ’23 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Comella said the need for awareness and preventive measures is critical.

“Let’s get people to switch how they’re thinking about Narcan,” Comella said. “That it’s not just for medical professionals. It’s not just for first responders, it’s for (everybody).”

According to the most recent date from Florida Health Charts, in 2022, there were 6,157 opioid overdose deaths in Florida, and 7,769 drug overdose deaths in the same period. The average age for opioid overdose deaths was 29, with the average age of drug overdose deaths at nearly 36.

In 2023, there were 36,163 emergency medical service responses to a suspected opioid-involved overdose, and 102,454 EMS responses to a suspected drug overdose including opioids.

“Fentanyl has become a big issue in our society,” said Cape Coral Police Department Public Affairs Officer Mercedes Simonds. “Fentanyl is far more potent than most drugs we’ve seen in the past and can be laced inside other illegal drug that are not marketed as Fentanyl. We work every day to get drugs off the streets by launching investigations and following up with search warrants and arrests. We’ve seen far too many overdoses, some of which have taken lives, to not combat this issue.”

In 2023, there were 47,410 instances of Naloxone (Narcan) administered according to Florida Health Charts.

As for why Drug-Free Lee wanted to host this awareness and training, Comella said, “I think a lot of people have some hesitancy in terms of whether we should have Narcan or not.

“What we would like to do is make the general community more comfortable with having Narcan. You can see overdose at the grocery store or at the park. Unfortunately fentanyl abuse is not just in one neighborhood, it’s in all the neighborhoods.”

According to “Facing Fentanyl Now,” the entity that is home to National Fentanyl Awareness Day, illicit fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Officials said just two milligrams of fentanyl can cause sudden death and be a lethal dose.

“The onset of poisoning caused by fentanyl can occur at a much quicker rate (sometimes within seconds) than heroin,” Facing Fentanyl Now officials state. “In the majority of cases, fentanyl poisoning appears very similar to other opioid overdoses.

“Death by fentanyl is a form of suffocation. It shuts down your neuro and respiratory system and you can die in minutes or even seconds. Fentanyl causes respiratory depression called ‘wooden chest syndrome.'”

The drug has been found in nearly every common street drug, such as cocaine, heroin, pills such as Percocet and Adderall, as well as marijuana.

Comella said free Narcan, which can be administered via a nasal spray, is available at places such as Kimmie’s Recovery Zone and the Department of Health, and can also be purchased over-the-counter.

“It’s come a long way in the last four years,” Comella said. “And the challenge is that we’re not enabling people. There’s a whole stigma with Narcan that is horrible. This (event) also helps fight that stigma in the community. Whatever can help you in your recovery, we need to implement that, as long as people get better.”

Comella said it has been concerning to see the rise of the drug in Lee County in recent years, and said what’s most troubling is that she’s not sure if there’s an end in sight. And anyone can be susceptible to unintentionally ingesting the drug.

“The amount of fake pills we’re seeing is alarming,” she said. “We’re concerned for the college student who is looking for ADHD medication which we know is abused, and they’re going to look online for fake pills and get fentanyl instead. If anything, it’s expanding to more parts of the population because of the large amount of fake pills that are coming out.

“We need to expand the understanding of substance abuse disorder as a brain disease. It’s not like people say ‘Oh, today I want to be an addict.'”

Comella said the training will take about 45 minutes, and hopes as many members of the community that can show up, do.

“We just want to encourage more citizens to be advocates for recovery,” she said.

Participants will learn signs of overdose and how to administer Narcan. Community resources on recovery and follow up will also be available at the event.

For more information on the Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida, visit DrugFreeLee.org.