Prescott Valley Police Receive Funding To Battle Overdoses In The Town

Law enforcement agencies across Northern Arizona have made significant arrests recently regarding fentanyl uses and the sale of the dangerous drug. Authorities say many drug dealers are manufacturing pills containing fentanyl to look like or simulate the appearance of legitimate medication. Prescott Valley Police say since October of 2019, they have responded to 57 drug overdose calls in Prescott Valley alone. Because of the heavy amount of calls they have received, the Prescott Valley Police Department applied for state and federal funding, through the Arizona Department of Health Services, to purchase the anti-overdose drug NARCAN. The grant was approved and now all officers in the department can use the drug in an overdose situation, after they have been trained to do so. Of the 57 overdoses, officers gave NARCAN to 16 people, saving 12 lives. Officials say the overdoses they have seen have come from fentanyl, meth, Percocet, heroin and melatonin. Police are urging people not to take medicines from unknown sources or prescribed medication’s belonging to others.