Illicit fentanyl is taking lives at a startling rate in Charleston County, 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.
“Synthetic opioids and specifically, fentanyl, are the primary drivers of overdoses and overdose deaths in the Charleston area,” said Dr. Chanda Funcell, director of the Charleston County Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), also known as Charleston Center.
Legal fentanyl is a synthetic opioid regulated by the Food and Drug Administration approved as a pain reliever and anesthetic. But as the nation’s illicit opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc, illegal fentanyl is a widespread, dangerous addictive drug.
“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.”
The ruthless opioid epidemic
Funcell said data released in February from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control showed more than a 25% increase in statewide overdose deaths from 2020 to 2021. Charleston County’s death rate is third highest in the state, behind Horry and Greenville counties.
“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 the sooner that community agencies and Charleston residents are aware of the risks of illicit fentanyl, the better. Talking about it 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.”
Charleston County government announced Wednesday it received $900,000 as part of a $26 billion-dollar national opioid settlement. With this funding money, the county plans to bolster its short- and long-term efforts to stop the opioid epidemic.
The funds will be allocated toward life-saving training for first responders, community support groups, schools and families, as well as increasing the distribution of Narcan to uninsured individuals or those whose insurance does not cover the medicine.
The $900,000 will also fund Charleston Center to expand its services and hire additional staff members, including peer support specialists and a clinical counselor. The funds will equip the county to send representatives to drug conferences and obtain the latest research to better fight the opioid epidemic.
Charleston resident Kat Orr told the City Paper 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.”
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.
Get connected to resources
Charleston Center in North Charleston leads multiple programs and services to help combat fentanyl overdoses, Funcell said, such as training individuals and organizations in high-overdose areas to recognize a drug overdose and administer Narcan. The agency also supplies test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl in substances.
Charleston Center uses the national Overdose Mapping and Application Program (ODMAP) to identify where frequent overdoses occur to help steer awareness initiatives, Funcell said. The agency works with law enforcement and judicial agencies, community recovery and outreach organizations, and shelters to disseminate Narcan and help to abate the opioid overdose crisis.
DAODAS 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.
Additionally, DAODAS provides schools in the area with prevention curriculums and awareness presentations so young people know that fentanyl is in “everything from counterfeit pills, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin, etc,” Funcell 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.
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