After a Years-long Spike, Humboldt’s Overdose Deaths Seeing Sharp Drop Following a nationwide trend, overdose deaths appear to have declined sharply in Humboldt County in the first months of 2024 after increasing sharply in recent years since fentanyl became pervasive. Surveys compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 10.6-percent decline […]
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All The Old Familiar Places
I’d like to share with you, dear reader, an experience I had recently. For the purposes of this story, I’m going to say that it’s true but you can treat it like the dreamy introduction to Dante’s Inferno or the beginning of a Twilight Zone episode, if that works better for you. I found myself, […]
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What’s Behind Newsom’s Safe Injection Sites Veto?
Read between the lines of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Monday veto of a controversial bill that would have allowed San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles to launch trial supervised drug injection sites in a bid to curb California’s epidemic of fatal overdoses, and you might catch a glimpse of the political tightrope he’s walking. Although the […]
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Two Suspected Opioid Overdoses in HumCo Jail; 20 Grams of Suspected Heroin Found in Cell
Two Humboldt County jail inmates were saved by correctional officers after suspected opioid overdoses, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release today. On Monday night, correctional officers administered Naloxone, a nasal spray commonly used to counter decreased breathing caused by an opioid overdose, to two female inmates housed in the same cell […]
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APD Investigating Rash of Possible Overdose Deaths
The Arcata Police Department is investigating the city’s fourth possible overdose death since Wednesday. APD issued a press release at noon today with information about the deaths, saying it was intended “to inform community members of recent deaths in Arcata that could be related to the ingestion of dangerous drugs to include fentanyl.” At 4 […]
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Deputy Saves Man Overdosing on Fentanyl
A Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputy saved a man who was overdosing on fentanyl early this morning after finding him unconscious on Broadway and administering two doses of Narcan. According to a HCSO release, the deputy observed the man around 1:20 a.m. in the south Eureka area. In addition to giving the Narcan, the deputy […]
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Hoopa Man Arrested for Alleged Fentanyl Sale Tied to Woman’s Fatal Overdose
Yesterday, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office arrested 30-year-old Hoopa resident James Charles Williamson II on suspicion of manslaughter, possession of fentanyl for sale and transportation of fentanyl for sale after the Humboldt County Drug Task Force launched an investigation into the fatal overdose of a Weitchpec woman in November. According to the press release, on […]
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Four Jail Inmates Saved from Fentanyl Overdoses
Humboldt County correctional deputies used the overdose reversal drug to save four jail inmates who had appeared to overdose on the highly potent opioid fentanyl over the weekend. “On all four occasions, deputies located the inmates unresponsive and exhibiting signs of opioid overdose,” a press release states. “Each incident required multiple administrations of Naloxone. Also […]
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Yurok Tribal Council Unanimously Rejects Proposed Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement
The Yurok Tribal Council voted unanimously last week to oppose the proposed bankruptcy settlement agreement and restructuring plan for OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, saying it amounts to a “sweetheart settlement” for the billionaire Sackler family, which owns the pharmaceutical giant. “There is no justice in this settlement,” Tribal Chair Joseph James said in a press […]
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HumCo Fentanyl Overdoses Coming at “Staggering” Rate in 2021
Humboldt County is in the midst of a surge of fentanyl-related overdose deaths, alarming local officials who have long braced for the powerful opioid’s impact on the North Coast. Fentanyl has accounted for nearly 50 percent of Humboldt County’s alcohol and other drug (AOD) deaths so far this year, with five overdose deaths logged in […]
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Drug Task Force Reports Seizing 5K Fentanyl Pills
The Humboldt County Drug Task Force reported today making a handful of arrests and seizing more than 5,000 counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl after a weeks-long investigation initiated after multiple fentanyl overdoses were reported in the Hoopa Valley. According to a press release, the investigation started March 5 when a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy working […]
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Third Wave
In 2013, what’s become known as the third wave of the national opioid epidemic began to wash over the United States. But fueled by the opioid fentanyl, for years it didn’t hit Humboldt County, leaving residents and officials to read about its devastating impacts elsewhere as it came to dominate national overdose rates. Then in […]