Opioid Epidemic: 'Miracle Drug' Narcan Praised By Police Chief

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Montgomery County Police held a press conference Wednesday to educate residents on the rising problem with opioids as the rate of fatal drug overdoses in the state continues at an epidemic pace — especially for users of heroin, fentanyl and the even more lethal carfentanyl.

Chief J. Thomas Manger Manger spoke to the media at the Department's Narcan (Naloxone) Training Class Wednesday, which teaches officers how to administer the life-saving drug. Officers who attend the Opiate Overdose Response Program class learn about the fundamentals of addiction, how opiates affect the body, and how Narcan works to reverse the effects of an overdose, police said.

About 200 Montgomery County police officers completed the training and carry Narcan, out of the approximate 1,300 officers employed in the county. The Department started the training three years ago with only 20 officers.

The Montgomery County Police Foundation purchased the necessary equipment to outfit the police officers, Manger said, totaling at about $10,000.

"I am very grateful... to the men and women of this police department who have volunteered to go through this training and to take on this responsibility because they didn't have to do this," Manger said. "You have officers that care about the community, care about people who are dealing with addiction, and they want to provide them the help they can. This drug... is just a miracle."

A Silver Spring resident, who is the mother of a 7-year-old boy, spoke at the meeting about how Narcan saved her life.

"I think with most people it started with pain pills and then led to heroin. I think once I got on that, that was it, there was no kind of coming back," Christina Geralis, 32, said. "That's your life. That's all you care about... I know towards my end, I wanted someone to help me. I just didn't know kind of where to go or how to do it, so I'm really appreciative."

Geralis overdosed and was saved by Narcan in March 2017, she said. She was brought to the hospital and was met by a Stop, Triage, Engage, Educate and Rehabilitate (STEER) employee, who helped her take the next steps to sobriety.

"It was just really helpful. I think a lot of addicts they want help, but you don't really necessarily know where to go," Geralis said. "And for the Narcan, if it didn't save me I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have this clean time, and I wouldn't be raising my son. I wouldn't be actually enjoying life. I'm just really thankful that the officers are volunteering to learn how to use it."

Geralis said she didn't know Narcan training was voluntary until she got to the training class.

"It was just really nice to see them wanting to help addicts, you know we're a bunch of things, but we're people and sometimes we need help," Geralis said.

Geralis has been clean since her overdose, which was the first she had. She said she was "thrown a life line" at the hospital and that it was a life-changing moment.

The county has seen a 145 percent increase in the number of fatal and non-fatal opioid overdoses in the last four years, Manger said at the meeting. Montgomery County Police responded to 57 non-fatal overdoses and 69 fatal overdoses in 2017, compared to 52 non-fatal and 40 fatal overdoses in 2014.

SEE ALSO:

• Heroin and Opioid Crisis Hits Record High in Maryland
• $3M Targeted at Fighting Maryland's Heroin Epidemic
• 22 Opiate Dealers Indicted In Annapolis Raid: Police
• 'I Really Like Getting High': Anne Arundel Heroin User

The rate of fatal drug and alcohol overdoses in the state continues at an epidemic pace, say state officials, who urged users to get into treatment before it's too late. The Maryland Department of Health in late October released data for fatal overdoses for the second quarter of 2017, and the numbers show that opioid-related overdose deaths continue to skyrocket in the state.

"My hope, my prayer is that a year from now, two years from now by 2020, is that we're not dealing with the level of problems we have," Manger said.

>> See the full press conference here:

Photo via Montgomery County Police Department