DENVER — Demand is leveling out for overdose reversal kits that include naloxone nearly one year after the city and county of Denver began sending them to residents -- and six months after a deadly incident in Commerce City led to a surge in requests, a program administrator said.
When the program began in September 2021, it averaged just under 100 requests a month, Senior Substance Use Analyst Marion Rorke said. After five people died of a suspected overdose in a Commerce City apartment in February, she received 2,400 requests practically overnight.
"We had to bring in additional staff, we had to get more envelopes, and you don’t even want to know about the stamps, honestly," Rorke said.
Prosecutors said they suspect the people inside the apartment took drugs, possibly cocaine, not knowing it was laced with fentanyl. The incident brought attention to the possibility of the powerful fentanyl's prevalence in other, non-opioid drugs – and that helped lead to the increase in demand, Rorke said.
"There are different types of stigmas associated with different types of drugs," she said. "We also know that there’s a stigma associated with substance use so getting that information into the general public can reduce that stigma and start those different conversations."
For each verified request, Rorke and her team pack white envelopes with a set of overdose-reversing naloxone, two fentanyl test strips, a brochure with information about how to use the medication and resources for people seeking addiction support.
"We don't want people to die just because they're using," Rorke said.
Since the surge in requests in February, she said demand has leveled off some. Now, the program receives about 100 requests for kits each week.
More requests means more doses of naloxone in the community – and more awareness to combat the stigma of seeking help, Rorke said. The overdose prevention program is designed to help keep people alive while they're using, but also rapidly provide resources if a user decides to seek addiction treatment, she said.
"It’s not just the naloxone and the test strips but it’s giving people physical resources and starting those conversations about substance use," Rorke said.
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