Sheriff, police to get anti-overdose kits

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that its deputies and local police will soon receive training and anti-opioid overdose kits to counteract overdoses in the field.

“Not only can we help the victim of an opioid overdose, we can also help another officer or one of our K-9s which becomes exposed to an opioid,” said Sheriff Tom Jones. “We do see many drug crimes involving opioids, and we have responded to several deaths caused by opioid abuse.”

Opioids include heroin, morphine, fentanyl, codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, meperidine, and methadone. All of these drugs are linked to addiction, and in many cases law enforcement officers are the first to arrive at the scene of an opioid overdose.

In 2015, Grant County’s Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team seized 529 grams of heroin. In 2016, that number skyrocketed to over 3,477 grams, noted Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

“Heroin is easy to get, easy to abuse and can quickly kill you,” he said.

The kits will be issued to deputies thanks to a grant from the Washington Department of Social and Health Services and managed by the University of Washington’s Center for Opioid Safety Education, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute. A two-pack of the spray kits costs about $75.

Other Grant County law enforcement agencies, including Moses Lake, Ephrata, Grand Coulee, Quincy, Mattawa, Royal City, Soap Lake and Warden, will also be training their officers on the use of naloxone, the sheriff’s office stated.