PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert County has seen a significant decrease in opioid deaths in the last year. From July 2024 to June 2025, there were 1,360 overdose deaths involving specific substances, including non-opioids like alcohol. Fentanyl accounted for 1,097, or 80.6%, of overdose deaths. Opioid overdose death rates peaked in the county and nationwide in 2020 and 2021. During that year, the county recorded 2,500 deaths.
“The numbers are starting to drop. However, we have to remember the impact remains profound,” Health Officer Dr. Nimfa Teneza-Mora said during a presentation at the Aug. 5 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).
Dr. Teneza-Mora also noted that where heroin previously caused most of the county’s opioid deaths, that number has fallen off since 2017, and fentanyl is now involved in most overdose deaths. Fentanyl is a sedative used in hospitals for people who are intubated and/or in the intensive care unit. Fentanyl is incredibly potent — up to 100 times more so than heroin — and is especially dangerous on the streets because it can be made by non-pharmaceutical sources, made to look like a prescription pill or laced with other substances.
The reduction in overdose deaths is due in large part to the increased availability of NARCAN (Naloxone) and public health initiatives to get the life-saving medication into more people’s hands. Dr. Teneza-Mora said that training first responders to administer Naloxone and providing it to them in kits has had major impacts on reducing deaths. In Calvert, she sees the effects of the availability at every level — like the crisis response team and in healthcare settings. NARCAN is a nasal spray designed to be easy to use — anyone can use it as long as they’re trained. People should also go to an emergency room after receiving Naloxone or NARCAN.
When someone overdoses on an opioid, it triggers respiratory depression that eventually stops the brain from signaling the body to breathe. Naloxone works by rapidly reversing the opioid’s effects and restarting the trigger to breathe.
Drug addiction is a complex problem. The commissioners questioned the cycle of prescribing opioids and having NARCAN and Naloxone widely available at pharmacies. They also wondered how to stop repeat overdoses and end cycles of addiction that would lead to the need for so much Naloxone in public hands in the first place.
Dr. Teneza-Mora said that their demand for Naloxone remains as high as when the county started the program several years ago. However, she added that they don’t ask where the medicine is going or why — it might be for someone who has prescription opioids in the house in case of accidental ingestion, or someone who just wants to be able to help if needed. She didn’t have the data on addiction numbers but reiterated that the Naloxone program is a success and remains necessary if the goal is to continue saving lives.
“We do need continued investment because this is a chronic condition. These programs will continue to need support if we’re going to lower those deaths, and work on getting them down to zero,” Dr. Teneza-Mora said.
Jennifer Moreland, director of Community Resources, said that in addition to national take-back days for people who have opioids in the house from past prescriptions, the sheriff’s office has a drop-off box where people can take the pills. She recommended that people utilize the boxes rather than waiting for take-back days.
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So…the number of overdoses are not really changing… it’s that the ‘overdosers’ are being saved, to try overdosing agai?. Got it.
Some people have overdosed and ‘brought back’ by Narcan. When will they get it through their thick heads to stop using the stuff??????? Good grief, it’s not rocket science.