XPost: la.general, alt.politics.media, alt.business   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv.comedy.colbert-report   
   From: eric.garcetti.black.penis.eater.democrats@disney.com   
      
   Although the actual number is rather small, West Hollywood does   
   lead other Westside cities and L.A. County as a whole in the   
   percentage of drug-related deaths.   
      
   That’s according to an analysis by WEHOville of all drug-related   
   deaths in Los Angeles County in 2018, using data from the L.A.   
   County Coroner’s Office.   
      
   That data shows that the deaths of nine West Hollywood residents   
   were attributed to illegal drugs, which amounts to .00024% of   
   the city’s population.  Santa Monica, a much larger city than   
   West Hollywood in terms of population, ranked second among   
   Westside cities, with 21 drug-related deaths, equal to .00023%   
   of its population. Culver City, whose population of 39,368 is   
   only slightly higher than the 37,080 of West Hollywood, had only   
   two drug-related deaths, equal to .00005% of its population.   
      
   In Los Angeles County as a whole, there were 1,079 drug or   
   alcohol related deaths in 2018, according to data from the   
   Coroner’s Office. Of those, 432 were methamphetamine-related.   
   Fentanyl was involved in 209 deaths and cocaine in 164 deaths.   
   Heroin was involved in 202 deaths. Morphine-related deaths   
   totaled 124 and there were 21 oxycodone-related deaths.   
      
   Seven of those who died in West Hollywood were Caucasian, one   
   was African-American and one was Asian. Seven of the nine were   
   men and two were women. Four of the deaths were of people under   
   30, with the youngest one a 23-year old woman. The remainder   
   were ages 38 to 48.   
      
   Four of the deaths were attributed to use of methamphetamine, a   
   highly addictive drug that is common in the gay community. Two   
   involved fentanyl,  while another two involved multiple drugs   
   are not identified in the data and one involved alprazolam and   
   ethanol intoxication.   
      
   Drug-related deaths have become a matter of concern in the   
   community since July 2017, when Gemmel Moore, a 26-year-old   
   African American sex worker, was found dead of a methamphetamine   
   overdose in the apartment of Ed Buck, a prominent local   
   political donor. In January, Timothy Dean, a 53-year-old African-   
   American man was found dead from methamphetamine use in Buck’s   
   apartment.  And this past Sunday two men, one a 53-year-old   
   African-American and the other a 21-year-old Latino, were found   
   dead in an apartment on Hacienda Place. The Sheriff’s Station   
   says the deaths were likely caused by drugs (the Coroner’s   
   Office has yet to determine the actual cause).  In September   
   2016, WEHOvillepublished a story revealing that local drug   
   dealers were using Grindr, a gay sex hookup app headquartered in   
   West Hollywood, to sell illegal drugs online.   
      
   The City of West Hollywood and various non-profit social   
   services agencies have focused on rehabilitation of drug addicts   
   and harm reduction efforts. There has been little or no effort   
   to educate potential drug users of the risk to their health.   
   However, the City Council on Monday voted to allocate $20,000 to   
   APLA Health and the LA LGBT Center to provide fentanyl testing   
   strips to drug users.  The $15,000 allocated to APLA’s Health   
   and Wellness program is to develop and distribute a public   
   education campaign, targeting the West Hollywood community and   
   members of the LGBT community that visit West Hollywood during   
   Pride, providing information on the risks of the use of fentanyl   
   and other party drugs such as Methamphetamine.   
      
   The testing strips can be used to test a drug that one plans to   
   use to make sure it isn’t laced with fentanyl, which is   
   increasingly common.  Fentanyl is manufactured legally for   
   medical use, but can also be produced illicitly and sold on the   
   illegal drug market. As was noted in a report from the city’s   
   Human Services and Rent Stabilization Department, fentanyl “is   
   50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and the intervention   
   period for a fentanyl overdose can be as short as 45 seconds.   
   Illegal fentanyl can be sold as a powder, in eye droppers or   
   nasal sprays, or made into pills that look like real   
   prescription opioids.”   
      
   The report from Human Services explains that “In order to use   
   the test strips, testers dissolve a small amount of substance in   
   water, and then dip the test strips into the liquid for 15   
   seconds. The test strip is then set on a flat surface until   
   results appear, usually within five minutes. One line indicates   
   fentanyl is present in the sample; two lines indicate a negative   
   result.”   
      
      
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