OC Fentanyl Seizures Double In 2018: OCSD

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Fentanyl seizures in Orange County have doubled over the past year, sheriff's officials reported Wednesday.

"Multiple narcotics, gang and interdiction teams covering OCSD contract cities and unincorporated areas work tirelessly to intercept illicit drugs," an Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said in recent announcement.

The pharmaceutical, Fentanyl, is known to be a synthetic opioid pain reliever, typically used for advanced cancer patients. In a medical setting, Fentanyl can be effective in pain relief, used illegally it can be incredibly dangerous, OCSD spokeswoman Carrie Braund said.

"A fatal overdose of fentanyl can be 2 milligrams. For perspective, a sugar-packet-sized bag of fentanyl can contain 500 lethal doses. The 44 pounds seized by OCSD in 2018 contains more than 10 million fatal doses," she said.

In 2018, the Orange County Sheriff's Department seized 44 pounds of the synthetic opioid, compared with 22 pounds in 2017 and 0.2 pounds in 2016.

There were no seizures of the drug in Orange County in 2015.

Fentanyl was not the only drug seized last year, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Deputies also seized 72 pounds of heroin, 451 pounds of cocaine and 1,420 pounds of methamphetamine in 2018.

Sheriff's officials warned that Fentanyl, which is usually prescribed for severe pain, can be more potent than morphine and also more deadly.

The 44 pounds seized last year was enough to cause overdoses of everyone in Orange County three times over, according to the sheriff's department.

"These drug seizures will have an impact at the street level," said Sheriff Don Barnes. "When we couple enforcement with education, we will see reductions in drug activity across Orange County. Less drugs and less drug users will translate to lower crime rates, keeping us all safer."