Fentanyl-related deaths at a 5-year low in OC

Gonzales has been sober for over 10 years, but not long ago he said drugs were leading him to his death. 

“Eventually I ended up with a needle in my arm, injecting meth and heroin into my veins,” said Gonzales. 

Gonzales added he started drinking at 15 — and from there, it only got worse. 

“Originally, my motivation to change was I was too tired of dealing with the consequences. When I got sober, my motivation to stay sober was to help people, and now my motivation is my children,” said Gonzales. 

A recently released report from the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner shows a decrease in fentanyl-related deaths, marking a five-year low in the county. 

The report shows there were 407 fentanyl-related deaths in 2024, down from 613 deaths in 2023. 

Orange County Vice Chair Supervisor Katrina Foley noted that collaboration and education have played a large role in this decrease. 

“The county is the lowest in the state right now in terms of reduction of fentanyl deaths, and it is because of that collaborative effort, a treatment approach, an education approach and an enforcement approach,” said Supervisor Foley. 

An example of the collaborative effort that is happening in the community is between The Break Off and Windward Way Recovery, where Gonzales works. 

“We utilize movement as medicine; that is what we do,” said Sam Hale, founder of The Break Off, while teaching a fitness class at Windward Way Recovery. 

The Break Off is a nonprofit that works with those in recovery, those re-entering society after incarceration and veterans to teach them how to use fitness to better themselves. 

“We get involved with the kids and try to teach them how to use their bodies through space and time as movement and use that as a therapeutic value. Hopefully, we plant a seed and save one,” said Hale. 

Hale is 12 years sober and teaches fitness classes to those in recovery at Windward Way Recovery and other rehabilitation facilities across Orange County. 

“When I come to a treatment center, I try to share what fitness has done for me because it is one form of therapy,” said Hale. 

Hale and Gonzales say that when they were struggling with addiction, fentanyl was not as readily available. But now, they say almost every drug you find on the streets has fentanyl in it.

“Fentanyl, kids get a pressed pill and they don’t realize it is as potent as it is, and they die from it,” said Hale. “That is a poisoning.”

Read the original article here - https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/southern-california/health/2025/12/30/fentanyl-related-deaths