In Santa Cruz County, enough opioid medications are prescribed for every man, woman, and child to medicate themselves around the clock for six weeks of each yer. As a coalition of interdisciplinary organizations, SafeRx has been working in collaboration with doctors, pharmacists, and other community members to promote prevention of unsafe prescribing and substance use practices.
FOR
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
46 People Die Every Day
from an overdose of prescription pain relievers
Preventing Opioid Overdoes Deaths and
Managing Pain Safely
Since the late 1990's, opioid use has skyrocketed across America. In 2014, 18,893 Americans died from prescription opioid overdoses—more deaths than any previous year, and more than quadruple the deaths in 1999. Almost no other major cause of death in America has increased so rapidly.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
OPIOID SAFETY DATA REPORT
Medication and Sharps Resources
Educational Materials
August 24, 2018
In recognition that Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, there will be a vigil in Santa Cruz to coincide with events and activities planned around the world and throughout the United States, including in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Eureka, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego.
Communities across the country are impacted by our public health epidemic. National drug overdoses have reached an all time high of 72,000 an...
April 3, 2018
(Santa Cruz, CA – April 3, 2018) — SafeRx Santa Cruz County, a community-based coalition, is tackling the opioid epidemic and will receive support to bolster its capacity to reduce new opioid prescriptions, advocate for safe pain management and effective opioid use disorder treatment, and challenge stigma and misconceptions surrounding opioid use disorder. The support, which is being provided to regional coalitions throughout...
August 1, 2017
Opioids are natural and synthetic forms of opium that are
widely used as pain relievers. Opium is extracted from the
opium poppy plant which contains chemicals used to produce
opioid pain medication such as morphine.
Opioids include other prescription medications, such as
hydrocodone (Vicodin or Norco), oxycodone (Percocet or
Oxycontin), fentanyl, codeine, and methadone. Opiate pain
relieving medications like morphine allow fo...