Opioid-related deaths are a national problem. But in El Paso, the numbers are stark. A big reason for this is the growing prevalence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. According to data El Paso Matters obtained from the El Paso County Medical Examiner, the number of fentanyl-related deaths has gone up almost every year from 2015 – when there were four deaths – to 2021, when there were 64.

A growing number of law enforcement agencies carry Narcan, known by its generic name naloxone. But El Paso Matters assistant editor René Kladzyk found that the El Paso Police Department has just 85 Narcan kits available for its over 1,000 officers.

Texas Standard