One person died of apparent fentanyl overdose at Mission Beach Rental Home – NBC 7 San Diego

Nathan Smiddy abused drugs for years. He overdosed twice, once to fentanyl and was saved by naloxone. In one year, he says 16 of his friends died of fentanyl overdoses. He finally decided to change his life. “I didn’t want anyone to go through my experience,” he said. Thinking of Monday’s overdose victims, he said, “Someone, somewhere loves them.”

Now sober, Smiddy works for A New PATH, Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing. He trains people in the administration of NARCAN and distributes the drugs free of charge.

“We still don’t have widespread access to naloxone. It’s crazy for me, how it will take? Smiddy continued: “How many more people will have to die before we review our policies and make long-term changes?”

NARCAN or naloxone was used by police early Monday morning at a rental home in Mission Beach. Police said while the group was watching a football game at the vacation rental, three people overdosed on fentanyl. Two regained a pulse and began to breathe. The third person was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, but did not survive.

On November 10, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said he was issuing an executive order to address San Diego’s growing fentanyl crisis.

He said the city would devote more resources to law enforcement and street-level investigations. On Monday, he told NBC 7 that this latest fentanyl death is a good reminder to the community that it could happen to anyone, anywhere.

“It’s not just for our prison population or our homeless population. It’s about a vacation rental downstairs, it’s about your kids’ playmates,” he said. “There is a level of urgency here that I need people to understand. I think it often feels like it has no bearing on your life.

Smaddy said the whole situation needs to be treated like the health crisis that it is. He believes the government needs to do more and now.

“I mean that’s where we are right now. It’s scary. It shouldn’t be like this,” Smiddy said. “Every overdose death is a political failure, hands down.”

According to the mayor, in 2021 there were 812 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in San Diego County. He said the county exceeded that number in the first six months of 2022 alone.

Gloria told NBC 7 he plans to fulfill that order next week and more details will be released soon.