CARLSBAD — Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer will today host a town hall with other officials at 6 p.m. in Carlsbad about the dangers of fentanyl.
Lawson-Remer will be joined at the Harding Community Center, 3096 Harding Street by Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Priya Bhat-Patel and District Attorney Summer Stephan.
“The crisis of addiction to opioids and fentanyl was ignored by the old board of supervisors, but in the last three years we have ramped up our county’s focus on addiction treatment and prevention,” Lawson-Remer said. “The action taken on the Opioid Framework Strategy is one example, but others include the distribution of 35,000 doses of overdose reversal medication in the past year, and giving out 8,000 fentanyl test strips in the last eight months.”
Last week, the county Board of Supervisors adjusted the Opioid Settlement Framework it adopted in October of 2022, to redirect $7.5 million towards expanding proven additional prevention and treatment programs. The board’s action also authorized the Public Safety Group and Medical Examiner’s Office to add one staff year for toxicology services to expand surveillance of emerging drug trends.
“No community is immune to the dangers that come from fentanyl and opioids,” said Bhat-Patel. “By hosting this town hall we want parents and youth to have an opportunity to receive information and ask questions. It is also a chance to become familiar with the available county resources to prevent overdose deaths and test drugs for fentanyl.”
Residents can RSVP at linktr.ee/SupLawsonRemer.
“Fighting the opioid epidemic with a laser focus on the deadly impact of illicit fentanyl remains a priority for the District Attorney’s Office,” Stephan said. “My office is holding drug dealers accountable and at the same time investing in prevention and outreach, including an important upcoming town hall discussion in Carlsbad about the dangers of opioids and fentanyl which continue taking the lives of too many of our family members, friends and neighbors.”
