Police educate Annandale residents on the fentanyl crisis

Anyone who reports a fentanyl overdose or revives a victim with Narcan won’t be charged with a crime.

That’s the message detectives with the Fairfax County Police Department’s Overdose Investigations Unit brought to a community meeting in Annandale on Nov. 17.

The meeting, at the Wedgewood Community Center, was hosted by Opportunity Neighborhoods (ON)-Annandale, a Fairfax County program run by FACETS. More than 20 residents of the Wedgewood, Fairmont Gardens, and the Vistas apartments attended.

Parents at the meeting wanted to learn more about fentanyl and how to talk to their children about drugs.

They expressed concerns about their children being approached by drug dealers in the schools. One parent said their student is afraid to go to the bathroom at Annandale High School because of the drug use going on there. [WUSA 9 reports a student at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria suffered a nonfatal overdose on Nov. 17.]

Det. Kyle Wilson advised the audience to call 911 when they come into contact with someone overdosing and not to worry about the consequences of calling the police.  

A state law prohibits a person from being arrested or prosecuted if they administer Narcan or try to get medical attention for someone experiencing an overdose, the detectives explained. That is true if the victim is a family member, friend, or stranger.

The Overdose Investigations Unit was established in 2019 to combat the fentanyl/opioid epidemic by identifying the people who provided drugs to overdose victims. “The police are focusing on the distribution of controlled substances, not the users,” Wilson said.

“When you call the police about someone overdosing in your community, you don’t have to give your name,” said Lt. Kevin White. “We don’t want to put anyone at risk.”

“We’re trying to remove the stigma of addiction,” he added. “We want to know how these drugs are getting into the community. Every fatal overdose is investigated like a homicide.”

There were 65 fatal opioid overdoses and 342 nonfatal overdoses in the Fairfax Health District so far in 2023, up from 45 fatal 239 nonfatal overdoses during the same period in 2022.

Fentanyl is 80 or 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, Wilson said. Just two milligrams are considered lethal.

“Narcan is a game changer,” he said. Also known as Naxalone, it’s a nasal spray that can reverse an overdose and is now available over the counter at CVS and other pharmacies.

Between 1996 and 2014, 26,500 overdose victims in the United States have been saved by laypersons administering Narcan.

Yuri Coronado Prieto, a prevention specialist with the Community Services Board, handed out free samples of Narcan and explained how it works and how to use it.

After Narcan is squirted up an overdose victim’s nose, they should start breathing in 30 to 45 seconds, Coronado Prieto said. If there’s no response after three minutes, they should be given a second dose.

A person experiencing an overdose is unresponsible and won’t wake up if shaken or yelled at. They are not breathing or breathing slowly. Their fingernails or lips turn blue or gray.

The detectives urged parents to monitor their children’s phones and get their passwords, as drug deals are generally done on the phone. They should also note whether text messages contain the commonly used terms for opioids, such as erks, blues, 30s, bars, school buses, and footballs.

If people suspect fentanyl use in their home, they should look for burnt aluminum foil, as foil is used to heat up the pills, and cut-up straws, which are used to snort crushed pills.

This was the third session on opioids conducted by ON-Annandale, said Terry Angelotti of FACETS.

The Opportunity Neighborhoods program helps residents of high-needs communities identify their most pressing concerns and work to effect change. ON-Annandale focuses on Fairmont Gardens and the area around the Vistas apartments.

The ON-Annandale Council includes eight residents, the family liaison at Annandale High School, and the outreach minister at Fairfax Community Church. The council identified two priorities for 2023: children’s activities and the opioid crisis. The children’s committee hosted a trunk or treat event and is working with the police on distributing holiday gifts.

The committee working on the opioid crisis includes four residents, representatives from the Health Department and juvenile justice system, and the substance abuse specialist for the Falls Church High School pyramid.

The committee’s goal is to educate the community about the dangers of opioids and how the police deal with overdose incidents and to train as many people as possible on the use of Narcan.