Ventura County health officials outline overdose response and Narcan distribution in Oxnard

Ventura County Public Health staff presented the county's opioid overdose prevention strategy to the Oxnard neighborhood council, summarizing recent overdose trends, harm-reduction tools and how residents can access naloxone.

Shane Mazerf, program administrator for the county's opioid overdose prevention program, told attendees that Ventura County recorded 217 opioid-related deaths in 2020, peaked at 289 deaths in 2021, then declined through 2024 before a small countywide increase of about 16 deaths between 2024 and 2025 that the county attributes largely to stimulant (cocaine and methamphetamine) deaths. Mazerf said more detailed breakdowns are available in a Medical Examiner's Office report the county posts online.

Mazerf described the county's multiagency coalition, COAST (County Opioid Awareness and Solutions Team), which includes public health, behavioral-health providers, law enforcement, schools, treatment centers and community organizations. As one harm-reduction tool, the county distributes naloxone (brand name Narcan), a single-use nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses. "We gave out about 10,000 boxes in about a year's time," Mazerf said, and the program maintains roughly 50 wall-mounted dispensers across the county that the county refills weekly.

In Oxnard, Mazerf identified busy dispenser locations including the transit center, a restroom at Silver Strand Beach and the South Oxnard public-health clinic. He said some dispensers are placed in non-public government locations such as a jail waiting room and probation offices to reach family members and other visitors.

On administration and safety: staff said Narcan is absorbed through the nasal passages and can work even if a person is not breathing. They recommended giving one dose, calling 911 immediately, and waiting about two minutes before administering an additional dose if needed. Mazerf warned that naloxone can precipitate withdrawal and said the medication's effect typically lasts about 60 to 90 minutes, which is why emergency medical services should be summoned after administration.

Staff discussed storage and potency: naloxone kits commonly have about a two- to three-year shelf life, but Mazerf said an expired kit is better used in an emergency than withheld because potency typically declines gradually. He also described ancillary items the county provides: business kits for staff, fentanyl test strips for people who purchase illicit drugs, and small hanging kits designed so people in encampments can keep Narcan where it is easy to find.

Responding to a question about the source of the "80%" estimate that many street drugs now contain fentanyl, staff said those figures come from law-enforcement testing and medical-examiner analyses conducted after seizures or overdose investigations. On a recent novel-product issue, staff described a product sold over the counter in retail outlets that acted like an opioid (referred to in the meeting as "gas-station heroin" or "ratom/70"). The county and environmental-health teams educated roughly 700 retailers after the California Department of Public Health made sale of the product illegal in December; the county also followed up with letters and second visits to retailers.

Mazerf said the county is available to present to neighborhood councils, provides training and free kits for community distribution, and will share dispenser- and distribution-specific statistics for Oxnard on request. He emphasized the coalition's goal to reach people at higher risk (people experiencing homelessness, some younger people and elderly people with multiple prescriptions).

The neighborhood council followed the presentation with additional questions about storage, administration steps, and local distribution hotspots; presenters offered to provide Oxnard-specific data after the meeting. The presentation closed with staff offering kits and contact information for follow-up.

The council then resumed neighborhood reports and other administrative business.