Though cities across the U.S. have seen a recent decrease in overdoses due to opioids, far too many people still die from opioids and other stimulants, San Antonio officials said Thursday.
“We can’t stop,” said Jessie Higgins, chief mental health officer for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. “We can’t kick our foot off the gas on this issue. We’ve got to keep going.”
Higgins attributed the slight drop in opioid overdoses to the widespread availability of Narcan, or naloxone, which reverses the effects of opioids.
City Council approved a nonbinding resolution declaring overdoses a public health care crisis.
The crisis declaration sets the issue as a priority for the city, and comes on the heels of nearly $1 million in opioid settlement funds the city got to reduce overdoses through 2025.
“From 2018 to 2023, the United States experienced a 57% increase in drug induced deaths, for a total of 105,443 U.S. residents, which included 5,688 Texas residents and 469 Bexar County residents,” the resolution states. “… In 2023, Bexar County had a higher mortality rate than the state average for both stimulant-related and opioid-related deaths.”
Bexar County’s annual Medical Examiner’s Office Report said that 35% of more than 550 overdose deaths in 2022 happened among those who combined cocaine, heroin and meth. Another 32% of San Antonians who died of overdoses during that same time combined meth and other amphetamines.
As part of the resolution the city adopts the use of the original multi-year plan that shows how Metro Health will use its opioid settlement funds, and commits the City of San Antonio to developing an education campaign to focus on overdose awareness, reducing mental health stigma and youth education.
Reporter Raquel Torres contributed to this article.
