The following press release was issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:
On 12-15-2020 at 4:47 PM the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received an agency assistance request from the Ukiah Police Department regarding a unresponsive adult male at an apartment complex in the 700 block of South State Street in Ukiah, California.
Ukiah Police Officers were unable to immediately respond as they were in the process of handling other calls for service.
A Sheriff’s Sergeant responded to the apartment complex and arrived prior to medical personnel who had also been dispatched to the location.
Upon arrival, the Sheriff’s Sergeant located an unresponsive 21 year-old male laying in the apartment complex’s carport.
The Sheriff’s Sergeant began a medical assessment and noticed the adult male had a faint pulse and was unresponsive to pain stimulus (sternum rub).
Based upon the Sheriff’s Sergeant’s training/experience, he feared the adult male was suffering from an opioid overdose, which if gone immediately untreated could result in dead.
At this time a Ukiah Police Officer arrived on scene as the Sheriff’s Sergeant administered a 4MG dose of NARCAN to the adult male.
The dose appeared to be ineffective so the Sheriff’s Sergeant administered a second 4MG dose of NARCAN which after a short time appeared to have a positive affect on the adult male’s condition.
The adult male became responsive and was examined by medical personnel who arrived on scene. During the examination the adult male refused medical treatment and was released at the scene.
The adult male stated he had ingested edible marijuana/cannabis prior to having the medical emergency and denied any opioid use.
Based upon the circumstances of the medical emergency, including the positive affects of the NARCAN deployment, it is believed that the edibles were possibly laced with an opioid.
In April 2019 the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) began to issue NARCAN® (Naloxone HCI) nasal spray dosage units to its employees as part of their assigned personal protective equipment. MCSO’s goal is in protecting the public and officers from opioid overdoses. Access to naloxone is now considered vital in the U.S. The Center for Disease Control. The California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard has reported Mendocino County ranking, per capita, 3rd in all opioid overdose deaths. (https://discovery.cdph.ca.gov/CDIC/ODdash/) Narcan nasal spray units are widely known to reverse opioid overdose situations in adults and children. Each nasal spray device contains a four milligram dose, according to the manufacturer. Naloxone Hydrochloride, more commonly known by the brand name NARCAN®, blocks the life-threatening effects of opioid overdose (both medications and narcotics) including extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, or loss of consciousness.
The antidote can reverse the effects of an overdose for up to an hour, but anyone who administers the overdose reversal medication in a non-medical setting is advised to seek emergency medical help right away. The spray units can also be used by Public Safety Professionals who are unknowingly or accidentally exposed to potentially fatal amounts of fentanyl from skin absorption or inhalation.
The issuance of the Narcan nasal units, thus far, have been to employees assigned to the Field Services Division and the Mendocino County Jail medical staff. Employees are required to attend user training prior to being issued the medication.
Sheriff Matthew C. Kendall would like to thank Mendocino County HHSA Public Health for providing the Narcan nasal units to the Sheriff’s Office free of charge as part of the Free Narcan Grant from the California Department of Public Health.
Since the April 2019 issuance, there have now been six separate situations wherein Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Sergeants/Deputies have administered NARCAN and saved the lives of six people in need of the life saving antidote medication.
