XPost: alt.drugs.fentanyl, austin.general, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: pothead@snakebite.com   
      
   On 2024-05-05, useapen  wrote:   
   > More than 50 people overdosed Monday and Tuesday, resulting in the   
   > suspected deaths of eight people, in what city officials called an   
   > "outbreak" of opioid overdoses in Austin.   
   >   
   > At a news conference Tuesday, city employees convened to provide   
   > additional information about the incidents and the investigation   
   > surrounding the suspected overdoses. Austin-Travis County Emergency   
   > Medical Services received more than 50 overdose-related calls by Tuesday   
   > morning, an approximately 1,000% increase in overdose emergency calls in   
   > one day, according to EMS Assistant Chief Steve White. The agency   
   > typically receives one to two overdose calls per day, he said.   
   >   
   > White said Austin has not experienced this volume of overdoses since 2015,   
   > when K2, a synthetic marijuana compound, struck the community.   
   >   
   > The overdose emergency calls began in downtown Austin at 1 a.m. Monday and   
   > began cropping up in North, South and East Austin shortly thereafter,   
   > until 4 a.m. Tuesday, Travis County Medical Examiner Dr. Keith Pinkard   
   > said at the news conference. Many patients were found in cardiac arrest,   
   > White said.   
   >   
   > Patients represented a range of ages and demographics, said Austin Police   
   > Assistant Chief Eric Fitzgerald, though none were under the age of 18.   
   > Emergency calls came from businesses, residences and public areas. Most   
   > calls were concentrated in downtown Austin, around Neches Street, between   
   > East Sixth and East Eighth streets, EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said at an   
   > initial press conference Monday.   
   >   
   > "There were patients that were unhoused; there were patients that were   
   > housed," White said. "There were patients that were at their workplace,   
   > and there were patients that were out in public spaces as well. It was not   
   > limited to one geographic location.   
   >   
   > "We did notice that there were some spots that have had a higher density   
   > of overdoses, but it was spread throughout the entire city."   
   >   
   > The medical examiner's office has conducted autopsies and toxicology   
   > reports on the eight people whose deaths were tied to the overdoses,   
   > Pinkard said. The reports are currently pending.   
   >   
   > Travis County Judge Andy Brown credited emergency responders with saving   
   > many lives during the influx of calls. EMS community health paramedics   
   > canvassed affected communities Monday and passed out more than 200 Narcan   
   > kits, which can combat the effects of an overdose, to both their known   
   > clientele and members of the public. One police sector went through its   
   > entire stock of Narcan, White said. Individual room checks were done   
   > inside local shelters by the city of Austin's Homeless Strategy Office to   
   > ensure shelter residents had not been affected, an EMS news release said.   
   >   
   > White said that if the city had not prioritized the overdoses, the loss of   
   > life would have been in the dozens.   
   >   
   > Patients taken to local hospitals responded well to Narcan administration,   
   > increasing the likelihood that the substances ingested were opiates, the   
   > release said.   
   >   
   > Patients reported using different types of drugs, though EMS did not   
   > provide specifics on which suspected substances were causing the   
   > overdoses, EMS Deputy Medical Director Dr. Heidi Abraham said at a news   
   > conference Monday. Several patients treated Monday told paramedics they   
   > thought they were taking a non-opioid narcotic, the release said.   
   >   
   > Murder charges   
   > Fitzgerald, the assistant police chief, said the Austin Police Department   
   > would find those responsible for the overdoses and deaths and hold them   
   > accountable. A new Texas law instituted tiered felony charges for   
   > producing, delivering or distributing fentanyl in an effort to combat the   
   > crisis.   
   >   
   > The Police Department detained two individuals Monday and arrested one   
   > person. That person currently faces a firearm possession felony, with more   
   > charges pending, Austin police Lt. Patrick Eastlick said.   
   >   
   > "Anyone found responsible for distributing fentanyl faces potential   
   > charges of murder" or manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance   
   > causing death or serious bodily injury, Eastlick said.   
   >   
   > The police investigation is being aided by the Drug Enforcement   
   > Administration and the assistant U.S. attorney's office, he said.   
   >   
   > Overdose response and remediation efforts   
   > While the cause of the overdoses has not been found yet, Eastlick said   
   > fentanyl is the likely culprit. Police said it was too early in the   
   > investigation to determine where the drugs had come from.   
   >   
   > Brown, the county judge, said the Travis County Commissioners Court would   
   > finalize a contract Tuesday with Texans Connecting Overdose Prevention   
   > Efforts. The program allows community partners and first responders to   
   > have real-time information about when, where and why overdoses are   
   > occurring. He said the information can be used to tailor opioid response   
   > and remediation efforts.   
   >   
   > Drug overdose deaths continue to be the No. 1 cause of nonaccidental   
   > deaths in Travis County, Brown said, urging all those who can to carry a   
   > Narcan kit.   
   >   
   > Narcan can be found at distribution centers across the city and can be   
   > accessed with a Central Health Medical Access Program card at H-E-B and   
   > CommUnityCare pharmacies, said Dr. Desmar Walkes, the county's public   
   > health authority.   
   >   
   > Austin Public Health has received funding from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett   
   > through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to   
   > combat the opioid crisis, Walkes said.   
   >   
   > The funding "has gone a long way to help us prepare for days such as what   
   > we had yesterday," Walkes said. "This funding of over $2 million has   
   > allowed us to allocate 30,000 doses of naloxone to various community   
   > members."   
   >   
   > She said the symptoms of an opioid overdose can appear as shallow or slow   
   > breathing; confusion or loss of consciousness; change in skin color to   
   > pale, blue or purple; and very small pupils.   
   >   
   > https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2024/04/30/austin-tx-opioid-   
   > overdose-outbreak-four-dead-dozens-affected/73510061007/   
      
   Xi and the CCP's plans to have America destroy itself are working out rather   
   well.   
      
   --   
   pothead   
   Joe Biden is the absolute WORST President Of the U.S. ever.   
   Nobody else is even close. Including Jimmy Carter.   
   Vote for ANYBODY but Joe Biden in 2024.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)