West Hollywood Leads Other Westside Cities in Drug-Related Deaths

Although the actual number is rather small, West Hollywood does lead other Westside cities and L.A. County as a whole in the percentage of drug-related deaths.

That’s according to an analysis by WEHOville of all
drug-related deaths in Los Angeles County in 2018, using data from the L.A.
County Coroner’s Office.

That data shows that the deaths of nine West Hollywood residents were attributed to illegal drugs, which amounts to .024% of the city’s population.  Santa Monica, a much larger city than West Hollywood in terms of population, ranked second among Westside cities, with 21 drug-related deaths, equal to 0.23% of its population. Culver City, whose population of 39,368 is only slightly higher than the 37,080 of West Hollywood, had only two drug-related deaths, equal to .005% of its population.

In Los Angeles County as a whole, there were 1,079 drug or
alcohol related deaths in 2018, according to data from the Coroner’s Office. Of
those, 432 were methamphetamine-related. Fentanyl was involved in 209 deaths
and cocaine in 164 deaths. Heroin was involved in 202 death. Morphine-related
deaths totaled 124 and there were 21 oxycodone-related deaths.

Seven of those who died in West Hollywood were Caucasian, one
was African-American and one was Asian. Seven of the nine were men and two were
women. Four of the deaths were of people under 30, with the youngest one a
23-year old woman. The remainder were ages 38 to 48.

Four of the deaths were attributed to use of
methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that is common in the gay community.
Two involved fentanyl,  while another two
involved multiple drugs are not identified in the data and one involved alprazolam
and ethanol intoxication.

Drug-related deaths have become a matter of concern in the community since July 2017, when Gemmel Moore, a 26-year-old African American sex worker, was found dead of a methamphetamine overdose in the apartment of Ed Buck, a prominent local political donor. In January, Timothy Dean, a 53-year-old African-American man was found dead from methamphetamine use in Buck’s apartment.  And this past Sunday two men, one a 53-year-old African-American and the other a 21-year-old Latino, were found dead in an apartment on Hacienda Place. The Sheriff’s Station says the deaths were likely caused by drugs (the Coroner’s Office has yet to determine the actual cause).  In September 2016, WEHOvillepublished a story revealing that local drug dealers were using Grindr, a gay sex hookup app headquartered in West Hollywood, to sell illegal drugs online.

The City of West Hollywood and various non-profit social services agencies have focused on rehabilitation of drug addicts and harm reduction efforts. There has been little or no effort to educate potential drug users of the risk to their health. The City Council on Monday voted to allocate $20,000 to APLA Health and the LA LGBT Center to provide fentanyl testing strips to drug users.  Those strips can be used to test a drug that one plans to use to make sure it isn’t laced with fentanyl, which is increasingly common.  Fentanyl is manufactured legally for medical use, but can also be produced illicitly and sold on the illegal drug market. As was noted in a report from the city’s Human Services and Rent Stabilization Department, fentanyl “is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and the intervention period for a fentanyl overdose can be as short as 45 seconds. Illegal fentanyl can be sold as a powder, in eye droppers or nasal sprays, or made into pills that look like real prescription opioids.”

The report from Human Services explains that “In order to
use the test strips, testers dissolve a small amount of substance in water, and
then dip the test strips into the liquid for 15 seconds. The test strip is then
set on a flat surface until results appear, usually within five minutes. One line
indicates fentanyl is present in the sample; two lines indicate a negative
result.”

Another tool is naloxone
(Narcan), a medicine that can be given to reverse opioid-related overdoses. “It
is a safe and effective antidote to all opioid-related overdoses, including those
involving fentanyl, and is an important tool in preventing fatal opioid
overdoses,” says the Human Services report. “Naloxone can be administered by
EMS, law enforcement, people at high risk for overdose, or family and friends. Currently the Los Angeles LGBT
Center’s Mental Health Services program is
completing the application process with the (California Department of Public
Health) to access naloxone and have it available to staff for distribution to
clients at-risk for drug overdose.”

Mike Rizzo, manager of addiction and recovery services at the
LA LGBT Center, told WEHOville that the fentanyl strips will be available at all
of the Center’s locations, which include its Center WeHo at 8745 Santa Monica Blvd.
in West Hollywood.  Also, “the pharmacy
at the McDonald/Wright Building has an ample supply and when a client requests
a strip the pharmacist will come out and explain how to use them. Strips are available
during hours of operation.”

Rizzo said the Center usually gives out three to four strips
with each request but will supply more if a client requests them to share with
friends.  The Center doesn’t require that
the requestor show an ID or share any personal information.

Rizzo said that the Center’s Addiction Recovery Services “has
created packaging to hold three to four strips which talks about fentanyl and
the dangers of it. It also includes instructions on how to use the strips to
test the meth, cocaine or other drugs and how to identify if your product
contains fentanyl.”

In January the Center’s Addiction Recovery services
purchased 20,000 strips, Rizzo said, and the City of West Hollywood’s recent
allocation of $5,000 will allow the Center to  purchase 5,000 more.

Sean Boileau, the behavioral health services director for
APLA Health, said fentanyl testing strips will be available at APLA’s Gleicher/Chen
Health Center and APLA Health – Olympic, two locations that serve people who
live and work in West Hollywood. “We’ll also be handing them out at the APLA
Health booths at LA Pride, Long Beach Pride, DTLA Proud, and DragCon,” Boileau
said.

“We are handing out strips dependent on a client’s risk
behavior or by their request; usually between one to three strips; exceptions
made based upon clinical judgment for heavy users. We DO ask where they live,
but do not keep electronic records of who obtains a testing strip. We don’t ask
for photo ID or proof of residency to encourage those who want the strips but
may be uncomfortable disclosing their name and address. We want to keep the
process as simple and accessible as possible to make certain that those who
want the strips can easily get them.

“We will be buying 4,000 strips thanks to the City of West
Hollywood. When this is depleted, we will seek additional funding and/or use
our general fund to replenish as necessary.

“We will be talking to people about the dangers of fentanyl
but we will not be discussing the dangers of all drugs in the context of fentanyl
strip distribution,” Boileau said. We will also be giving people information on
APLA Health’s support programs if they wish to quit or reduce their usage, and
offer access to one of our behavioral health substance abuse specialists if
they are interested in treatment. “