Bryan Co. First Responders say 3 individuals overdosed this weekend

BRYAN CO., Okla. (KXII) -Over 100,000 people have died in the U.S. in just 2021 from drug-related overdoses, that’s according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

“Using any drug for intoxication can lead to all kinds of problems,” said Mark Woodward, spokesperson with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

Woodward added that no street drug is a safe drug, “every drug can end up putting someone in the hospital, becoming potentially fatal because of either the drug itself, something that’s cut into it like fentanyl or taking extreme amounts or even mixing drugs with alcohol.”

Bryan County First Responders confirm they responded to three overdoses this weekend, but couldn’t release if fentanyl was involved.

“But from time to time we have had instances where the marijuana or meth or cocaine has tested positive for fentanyl and this can be on purpose by the dealers trying to boost the strength of their product and separate it from the competition,” Woodward said.

Or Woodward said it could happen by accidental cross-contamination, “touching one drug and then touching another drug, somebody with a low tolerance certainly could overdose fairly easy with a small amount of almost unseen fentanyl that could be on a pill or in marijuana”

As for the patients in Bryan County, their conditions are unknown.

Woodard urges parents to speak to their children about the negative effects of recreational drugs, ”everything from the health effects, how it could affect their school, getting in trouble with law enforcement and impacting their ability to get a job someday.”

Parents should even get to know who their children’s friends are and their parents,”so getting to know who your kids hangout with and getting to know those parents can add more eyes and ears for these groups of kids and these communities,” Woodard said.

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