‘We are definitely seeing an increase’: Drug overdose reports spike in Myrtle Beach
There has been an uptick of drug overdoses in Myrtle Beach with twice as many calls in July compared to last year.
“We are definitely seeing an increase,” said Sgt. Jeremiah Beam with the Myrtle Beach police Street Crimes Unit.
In July, Myrtle Beach police had 30 incident reports involving drug overdoses, according to city data. That is up from 13 reports in July 2018. In June, there were 25 reports up from 19 in June 2018.
A sample of incidents police responded to in the last two months included:
- On July 17, officers responded to the Seaside Plaza on Flagg Street for a report of a person in cardiac arrest due to a possible overdose. A witness said a person used heroin and became unconscious and unresponsive.
- On July 4, police went to a Columbia Drive home after a woman said her boyfriend and her got into a fight. Moments later, she found him on the floor of a room with his mouth open and a needle laying beside him. Officers gave the victim Narcan and took him to the hospital.
- On June 9, officers responded to a 72nd Avenue North home for a possible overdose. A man said he returned from walking his dogs to find the victim on the ground outside the front door.
Drug overdoses are typically opioid-based, Beam said, including Fentanyl use. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. It can be mixed with other drugs or taken by itself.
Opioid-based drugs can be both prescription and illicit. Common opioid drugs are oxycodone and heroin.
Drug activity is based on supply-and-demand, and there is a demand in the Myrtle Beach area, Beam said.
When officers are called to a drug overdose, the first thing they do is provide medical attention and administer Narcan when necessary, Beam said. Narcan, or Naloxone, are drugs that counteract the effects of opioid overdoses.
Myrtle Beach officers typically do not arrest a drug user during a medical call because they don’t want people to be afraid to call 911 if they need attention, Beam said.
Once the medical treatment is complete, officers will look at the drugs, packing and investigate where the person purchased the drugs, Beam said. Officer typically target drug suppliers and not users, he said.
This summer’s spike in drug overdoses follows what the area saw to start the year At one point in February, Myrtle Beach went to three separate overdoses in six hours. Around the same time, Horry County responders went to 13 calls in a week. The area’s trend also mirrors state and national trends of seeing more opioid abuse.
According to the most recent figures provided by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, there were 509 incidents in 2015 where Horry County EMS administered Narcan. That jumped to 1,043 uses the following year.
There were 616 opioid deaths in South Carolina in 2016.
Horry County had about 130 opioid deaths in 2018, according to Horry County Coroner Robert Edge. He did not have updated figures for 2019. Through November 2018 and January 2019, there were 29 overdose deaths in Horry County.
This story was originally published August 3, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
