Stanislaus County officials warn over uptick in overdose-related calls
CERES — Stanislaus County health officials said there were more than 10 nonfatal overdose-related emergency reports over the weekend, all within a 25-hour span.
There have already been 44 drug-related deaths in the county this year. Dr. Bernardo Mora, with the county's Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, said "there were some that were fentanyl."
Six of those deaths occurred in the city of Ceres. The Ceres Police Department said they've had a 35% increase in opioid related emergency calls within the month of April.
Dr. Mora said that while the county has seen an uptick in community members using their services, a major concern is for those who don't know they've ingested deadly drugs.
"The fact of it is with fake pills, pills that you think, 'oh, wow, that looks like I've taken x-y-z before.' That looks like x-y-z, but it's not," he said. "It's fentanyl or some other variant because people are coming up with variants all the time. That's the danger, and those are fatal."
There have been over 1,200 drug-related deaths in the county since 2018.
The deadliest year was 2023, with 213 deaths. Out of those deaths, 73% were opioid related while fentanyl accounted for 138 out of the 213 deaths.
"Fentanyl has a legitimate use. Not saying that it doesn't, but to the wrong folks, or to the folks that's not meant for, it's deadly," Dr. Mora said.
Now, Dr. Mora said it's about addressing the crisis before it spirals.
"Certainly for older kids who might be more susceptible or peer pressure... don't experiment," he said.
