Poison Pill: San Diego’s Battle Against Fentanyl

Introduction

NBC 7 undertook an in-depth investigation to move beyond the headlines and statistics, aiming to uncover how the fentanyl crisis emerged in San Diego County, the impact it continues to have on local communities, and the critical work still needed to address what has been labeled an epidemic.

Throughout their reporting, they spoke with grieving parents who have lost their children, overdose survivors, academic and medical experts, government officials, and activists. The accounts from those on the front lines are candid, powerful, and at times deeply unsettling. By presenting these stories, NBC 7 seeks to provide San Diegans with a deeper understanding of the scope of the fentanyl crisis and to highlight the urgent need for collective action to protect families from future tragedies.

Accompanying Information: [PDFs]
Social Media Drug Trafficking Threat
Fake Pills Fact Sheet
Fentanyl Fact Sheet
Emoji Drug Codes
One Pill Can Kill Initiative: Key Results
What Every Parent & Caregiver Needs to Know About Fake Pills

Quotes

“In 2021 alone, the DEA seized 20.4 million fake pills. In the first nine months of 2022, U.S Customs & Border Protection law enforcement agencies in San Diego and Imperial counties seized 5091 pounds of fentanyl.”

“Some of the methods that these drug trafficking organizations employ are pretty detailed. They’ll conceal the narcotics in certain man-made compartments, or non-factory compartments. We’ve seen through the seats, the gas tanks, the dashboard … They would put it on a two-year-old’s diaper and they’ll line the padding of the diapear with methamphetamine … there’s no means to which these organizations will not go through.”

“More than half of the pills being seized are potentially deadly. The DEA analyzes these pills for fentanyl levels and has found that 6 out of 10 pills contain what could be a lethal dose.”

“On average fentanyl kills two people in San Diego County every single day and across the U.S one person dies from a fentanyl related overdose every 8 minutes and 57 seconds.”

“The first time I tried opiates, I was immediately hooked. My thought was ‘I have to do this every day’ and I did … I had the best intentions to change and I just couldn’t do it … I would already feel a therapeutic effect just by having it in my pocket, it’s not even in my system yet.”

NATHAM SMIDDY aka “NARCAN NATE”

“Every week, Nate sets up in this parking lot, along with a non-profit that offers hot showers, a meal, and other resources to folks on the streets. Nate hands out care packages that always have Narcan and he makes sure people know how to use it. Nate also includes testing strips that can detect drugs laced with fentanyl.”

“We have drug dealers that have reviews, we have drug dealers that have tracking numbers for the product that they ship, and we have drug dealers that are multi-marketing – they have an Instagram account, they have a Snapchat account, they have a Telegram account et cetera. They’re seeling all over the place so the odds that your child is going to be exposed to this content can be relatively high.”

“There are three medications that are FDA approved for the treatment of opioid use disorder that have been shown to be very effective at reducing folks from using, as well as reducing all the negative impacts in their life when they’re using: (1) Methadone, (2) Buprenorphine, and (3) Naltrexone.”

“When we’re creating programs to help treat people with a functional use disorder opioid use disorder, we we want to have what’s called Low Barrier Care [PDF]. We want patients to be able to be connected to a provider … that has very good understanding of how to treat addiction, and we want them to be able to get medications right away. We know that these medications save lives so we don’t want to delay treatment.“