Sobering statistics from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office show that in the last three years, overdose deaths in the county skyrocketed by 51%.
“I am here today to report a troubling update to the overdose crisis that has been gripping Santa Barbara County,” Sheriff Bill Brown said to the Board of Supervisors during a meeting last Tuesday.
In a grim report to the Board, Sheriff Brown revealed that last year, 226 people in the county lost their lives to drug overdoses – a dramatic increase from 164 deaths in 2022, and 149 in 2021.
“I am just floored. I cannot believe that,” said local woman Laurie Fylstra.
Fylstra tells KSBY she lives in Tepesquet, but spent much of her life in Santa Maria. She says in recent years, she has seen many efforts from the Sheriff’s Office and local agencies to combat overdose issues, which is why she was so alarmed by the county’s findings.
“That is really scary. I really worry for the children here,” Fylstra added. “I always thought we were kind of immune to it, but I guess not anybody is immune to it anymore.”
Regarding the dangers of fentanyl, according to Sheriff Brown’s presentation, deaths from fentanyl overdoses actually saw a slight decrease last year, dropping from 117 to 112.
Despite this, Freddie Perez of Santa Maria feels more policing should be done to keep fentanyl out of his community.
“We need to have police officers crack down on the drug addicts, on the dealers, putting them in jail and keeping them off the streets for a longer time than usual,” he explained.
In his presentation, Sheriff Brown detailed the county’s extensive efforts to address the issue, including the launch of Project Opioid in 2022, as well as widespread Narcan distributions across local cities.
But as the number of overdose deaths continues trending upward, he is pleading with supervisors for a new approach.
“I don't have all the answers for you, I just know that we could be doing a lot more,” Sheriff Brown said.
He says all but five of the 226 overdose deaths seen in Santa Barbara County last year were accidental.
During Sheriff Brown’s presentation, he asked supervisors to allocate money for the creation of a second narcotics team for the Sheriff’s Office, but supervisors made no guarantees of additional funding.
