Page 12 - Addiction and Overdose: Confronting an American Crisis

respiratory center. The lungs stop working because they are no longer
getting signals from the brain to breathe. When the lungs stop functioning,
the heart goes into cardiac arrest and stops beating because the lungs
are no longer providing it with oxygen. Without medical intervention, death
follows quickly.
In Adam Kull’s case, the police initially believed that he had died of a
heroin overdose. But toxicology reports—tests on blood, urine, and bodily
tissues—later showed that he had unknowingly injected fentanyl-laced
heroin. Fentanyl is an opioid prescription painkiller that’s thirty to fifty
times more potent than heroin. Doctors prescribe it most often to people
with severe pain from cancer and following major surgery. Surgeons may
use it during surgery as part of anesthesia. While no one can be sure
how Adam got access to fentanyl, an illegal drug that labs and dealers

SAVE A LIfE

Take these steps to help save people who may be overdosing:
• Stay with them and keep talking. Reassure them and try to make them
talk to you.
• If they are unconscious, turn them to the side. This position helps
protect the airway and prevents inhaling stomach contents in case
of vomiting.
• Call 911 and follow the operator’s instructions until emergency medical
personnel arrive.
• Do not leave the victim alone. Stay until help arrives.
• Ask if you should ride in the ambulance. The paramedics or emergency
room doctor may have questions about the overdose victim. Ask if
you should notify the victim’s family or another appropriate person
about the overdose. Often that responsibility belongs to the attending
physician or other emergency room staff.

12 Addiction and Overdose