According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, blue fentanyl-laced pills mimicking prescription oxycodone are currently being smuggled into the United States from Mexico. Commonly referred to as “Mexican Oxy,” these pills have been linked to a case in Arizona that left a 19-year old dead after being mistaken for pharmaceutical oxycodone, and have recently been identified in Lake County. Douglas E. Rohde, Supervisor of Chemistry and Toxicology at the Lake County Crime Laboratory, recently processed more than 250 fake oxycodone tablets. According to Rohde, the exact mixture of these pills varied, with some containing fentanyl combined with other fentanyl analogs, while others contained only fentanyl, a fentanyl and/or gabapentin mix, or no controlled substance, respectively. Fentanyl, a high potency opioid with 80 to 100 times the potency of morphine, rapidly suppresses respiration upon use, and has been linked to local, state, and national increases in overdose death.
Given the local distribution of these pills and other opioids, access to life-saving naloxone, in conjunction with community treatment and response efforts, is key. Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone), a state-wide overdose education and naloxone distribution program, teaches participants how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose, perform rescue breathing, call emergency medical services, and administer intranasal Naloxone. There is no cost to participate in Project DAWN, and all participants receive a free naloxone kit.
Project DAWN clinics are held five times each month throughout Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties.
| County | Location | Day | Time |
| Lake | Lake County General Health District 5966 Heisley Road Mentor, Ohio 44060 |
1st Wednesday of each month | 4:30 p.m. |
| Signature Health 38882 Mentor Avenue Willoughby, Ohio 44094 |
3rd Tuesday of each month | 10:00 a.m. | |
| Ashtabula | Lake Area Recovery Center 2711 Donahoe Drive Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 |
2nd Tuesday of each month | 7:00 p.m. |
| Signature Health 4627 Main Avenue Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 |
Last Wednesday of each month | 11:00 a.m. | |
| Geauga | Ravenwood (main location) 12557 Ravenwood Drive Chardon, Ohio 44024 |
1st Tuesday of each month | 5:30 p.m. |
If you would like to register for the next Project DAWN clinic or would like more information, please contact Jessica McCarthy at 440.350.2875, or jmccarthy@lcghd.org, for Ashtabula and Geauga locations, or Haley Russo at 440.350.2844, or hrusso@lcghd.org, for Lake County locations.
