During the Sept. 4 annual Fentanyl Awareness and Action Summit at the Citrus Heights Event Center, Mareka Cole from Stop Drug Homicide, left, and Stephanie Boatright from the Izaya Michael Foundation, pose with posters of their children who died from fentanyl poisoning.

 

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Hundreds gathered from the Greater Sacramento Area for the annual Fentanyl Awareness and Action Summit at the Citrus Heights Event Center on Sept. 4, featuring resources and discussion panels regarding harm reduction, enforcement efforts, prevention and treatment. 

According to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office, a 32% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths was recorded between 2023 and 2024, signaling a decline in fentanyl-related deaths for the second consecutive year, which is a critical milestone. 

“Back in 2021, we saw an increase in fentanyl-related deaths here in Sacramento County,” Lori Miller, the Sacramento County Department of Health division manager said during the event. “So the Department Health Services partnered with our district attorney's office locally to begin intervention, to combat the fentanyl and opioid crisis here and so forth as one area to focus on is to be able to provide education to raise awareness around fentanyl.”

An attendee from the annual Fentanyl Awareness and Action Summit at the Citrus Heights Event Center on Sept. 4 shares her experience and asks speakers questions. 

Doctors, county officials, law enforcement, advocates and survivors shared resources, their experiences, findings, solutions and sympathies in a large gathering hall at the event center. Tens of tables, seating about seven people each, filled the hall with information and resources, such as naloxone, commonly known as Narcan available on the tables. 

Guest speakers and panelists advocated for the “lives of families who are still hurting,” thanking law enforcement for their continued efforts in pursuing criminal charges for fentanyl dealers and other substances that have led to deaths.

Posters of individuals who lost their lives to fentanyl poisoning lined the perimeter of the event hall, resource rooms and hallways of the event center. 

Stop Drug Homicide, a nonprofit organization raising awareness about the criminality of drug-related deaths, was represented by Mareka Cole and Ricky Brazil, two parents who each lost a child to fentanyl poisoning. 

Two attendees from the annual Fentanyl Awareness and Action Summit at the Citrus Heights Event Center on Sept. 4 stand in the hallway and pose for a photo. The man on the right wears a shirt that states, “Fentanyl Sucks!”

“We’re having new parents that are joining our club that nobody wants to belong to: they’ve lost a child,” Cole said. “And it touches hearts and makes people aware that eventually, everybody will know somebody that has died of an illegal drug of fentanyl.”

It is critical to come together as one voice, Cole said, growing louder and finding larger venues to inform the community or anyone who is affected by fentanyl and other substances. With new designer drugs emerging, Cole said, she applauds law enforcement for holding convicted drug dealers accountable for homicide if their sale directly leads to an overdose.

Alexandra’s Law, Prop 36, mandates a formal court advisory of such actions by law enforcement so that convicted dealers are made aware of their right to be held accountable.

“My son died of carfentanil, which is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, and we’re working on an arrest and the person is still selling fentanyl,” Cole said. “So it’s real important that people will be held accountable.”

James Tur, M.D., spoke at the event and mentioned medicated assisted treatment for individuals experiencing overdose. Tur works with Sacramento Street Medicine, an organization created to provide high-quality healthcare to people experiencing homelessness, according to sacstreetmed.org/about. 

“Something to think about with people that are overdosed and people that we’re trying to help is the idea of precipitated withdrawals,” Tur said. “But when you give someone the antidote for an overdose, you’re taking away the thing that’s making them feel good.”

Withdrawals can take place instantly, Tur said, and described a scenario where law enforcement could be administering an antidote and the patient is suddenly more agitated and sometimes aggressive. 

The Citrus Heights Event Center is packed with hundreds of attendees at the annual Fentanyl awareness and Action Summit on Sept. 4.

“They didn’t know they were dying and now they’re feeling absolutely awful,” Tur said. “The worst feeling in their lives. So that could be very, very difficult.” 

Tur said understanding the reasoning behind an overdose is not always clear, questioning intention or happenstance, and shared an experience where he lost a friend to an overdose, with Tur asking those same questions. 

Said Pamela Hawkins, the health program manager with Behavioral Health Services Sacramento County Substance Use Prevention, “It's been wonderful to be able to partner with everybody. We have folks who were all touched in some way. 
We have a lot of parents and loved ones who have lost their lives to fentanyl poisonings. And so it's really important that the work that we're doing to continue raising awareness, continue community efforts around this, and really focusing on further prevention, as well as expansion of treatment, making sure that people are aware of harm reduction strategies.”

To learn more about raising awareness about fentanyl, overdose or substance use prevention in Sacramento County, visit https://sacopioidcoalition.org/ and view a nine-part blog series from Safer Sacramento, “The Ripple Effect,” available at https://www.safersacramento.com/the-ripple-effect.

To learn more about raising awareness about fentanyl, overdose or substance use prevention in Yolo County, visit http://www.yoloopioidcoalition.org.

To learn more about raising awareness about fentanyl, overdose or substance use prevention in Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sutter, Colusa, and Sacramento counties, also visit https://www.scmfoundation.org.