Wednesday night, Carlsbad residents filed into the Harding Community Center to learn the latest information about the County of San Diego’s efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis, and protect children and families from the opioid epidemic.

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer who represents Carlsbad on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors hosted the Town Hall in partnership with City of Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Priya Bhat-Patel and San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. Presentations were delivered by the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Department expert Dr. Nicole Esposito, Say San Diego with a demonstration on how to administer Naloxone, and the District Attorney.   

“Some of our residents have suffered tragic losses because of fentanyl and opioids, and this Town Hall was a resource for families to learn about the warning signs of these epidemics so they can better protect their loved-ones,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer, who is also a parent. “Our County has made significant advancements in the availability of information, overdose reversing medications and addiction treatment services since I joined the board three years ago, but not everyone knows about it. By going out into the areas affected by these issues, we are helping families live a better quality of life.”  

Earlier this month, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and her colleagues updated the Opioid Settlement Framework it adopted in October of 2022, to redirect $7.5 million towards expanding proven additional prevention and treatment programs. The Supervisor’s action today also authorized the Public Safety Group, Medical Examiner’s Office to add one staff year for toxicology services to expand surveillance of emerging drug trends. Other actions taken by Supervisor Lawson-Remer and the Board of Supervisors since 2021 include:  

• Adoption of the County of San Diego’s (County) Comprehensive Harm Reduction Strategy (June 8, 2021); 

• Approval of a media campaign to prevent fentanyl overdoses in youth (October 19, 2021);  

• Declaring Illicit Fentanyl a Public Health Crisis (June 28, 2022;  

• Enhancing Fentanyl Education and Strengthening Harm Reduction Efforts for Young People (October 11, 2022);  

• Adoption of the San Diego County Opioid Settlement Framework (October 25, 2022); and 

• Update on Opioid Settlement Framework Implementation and Harm Reduction Media Campaigns (May 23, 2023). 

If a family is in need of help, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency tools to support them, visit this link for information about accessing Naloxone along with programs and providers to help with addiction prevention and treatment.