To keep residents safe from the dangers posed by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, the Beverly Hills Police Department is enhancing its educational campaign while training officers to administer Narcan to reverse potentially deadly overdoses.
(Beverly Press/Park Labrea News file photo)

Between 2012 and 2015, overdoses in the United States from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids rose by 264%, Beverly Hills Police Department Lt. Giovanni Trejo said during an Oct. 18 Beverly Hills City Council meeting.

Following the overdose death of a 15-year-old last month at Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, the dangers that fentanyl and other drugs pose to children have alarmed residents across greater Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills city, school and police officials are working to keep the drug away from the city’s youth.

“We are immediately deploying … an education campaign, it’s an outreach to the kids,” Trejo said. “And we are partnering up to make sure that we collaborate together, and that we bring awareness as to what is happening out there and the dangers associated with opioids.”

With Halloween approaching, Trejo urged parents to carefully inspect their children’s trick-ortreating bags to ensure that no drugs have been mixed with the candy. He added that the department has no evidence that anyone in the community is intending to lace candy with fentanyl, but there is still a danger that kids could confuse the lethal drug for candy if it were to end up inside their bags.

“So, we are recommending to the parents to please closely supervise your children as they’re out trick-or-treating, or at any Halloween-related activity. … If [the parents] suspect anything, please give us a call,” Trejo said.

Fentanyl is a prescription drug used to treat severe pain, but illegal versions of the synthetic opioid can be roughly 50-100 times more potent than heroin and morphine. Cheap, easy to produce and highly addictive, it is often mixed into other street drugs, Trejo said.

One of the most effective ways to prevent fentanyl overdoses is by administering Narcan, a nasal spray that quickly reverses the effects of an overdose, said Alex Ghazaltour, CEO of Vital Medical Services. VMS, which manages the city’s Narcan program, has taught nearly every police officer how to administer the spray, he added.

He praised the city for thinking ahead and implementing a Narcan program before other cities. “You guys were allowing the dog to wag the tail versus [allowing] the tail to wag the dog. … Your [BHPD] officers along with the relationship they have with the [BHFD] have responded to overdoses and have saved lives,” Ghazaltour said.

Getting fentanyl off the streets is especially difficult because it is so frequently mixed with other drugs, making it hard to identify, and because it can take up to six months for a lab to test a fentanyl sample, Trejo said.

The biggest barrier, however, is that police officers have not been able to file criminal charges for possession for use due to a special directive from the Los Angeles District Attorney that misdemeanor charges for drug possession alone are rejected.

“In other words, standalone cases are not filed when they’re presented to the D.A.’s office,” Trejo said.

To further the city’s education campaign, Councilman John Mirisch suggested inviting Sam Quinones, a former Los Angeles Times crime reporter who has written extensively about the synthetic opioid and meth crises, to give a presentation about these drugs’ destructiveness, and learn what Beverly Hills can do better.

Mayor Lili Bosse highlighted programs like the Norman Aid Wellness Center at Beverly Hills High School that provide mental health support for students, and asked Trejo if the council could do more to help residents.

“I think we are on the right track to implement a lot of solutions and to come up with a comprehensive approach to help those who are dealing with mental illness,” Trejo said.

As an example, BHPD Chief Mark Stainbrook is developing a program to support chronic criminal offenders where they are released from jail or prison, Trejo said.

“I think there are things that could be accelerated. … I don’t know, to be honest with you, if there’s anything else we can do to accelerate the process, but I do know that our efforts are out there,” Trejo said.