Over 200 people in San Diego County died last year from opioid overdoses.
Last month, the U.S. surgeon general responded to the nationwide epidemic by recommending that more Americans should be carrying an opioid overdose-reversing drug: naloxone. When used, it can take just seconds to revive someone suffering from an overdose.
Dozens of counties across California, including San Diego, got doses of the drug through the grant. But county officials have been slow to get naloxone into the hands of drug users and others who need it.
On this week’s San Diego Explained, Voice of San Diego’s Kinsee Morlan and NBC 7’s Monica Dean break down why the county is sitting on more than 6,000 doses of naloxone.