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Austin first responders prepared for potential drug overdoses at ACL Festival

ATCEMS said they have "more than enough Narcan," a potentially life-saving medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin first responders are ready to help festivalgoers who may overdose at the Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) over the next two weekends. 

During a media update concerning safety at ACL, Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) said they, along with their public and private medical partners at the event, have "more than enough Narcan to deal with anything that may happen." 

Narcan, or naloxone, is a medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It can be potentially life-saving in some instances of overdose. 

Both ATCEMS and the Austin Police Department (APD) warned attendees to not take any kind of pills or drugs that weren't prescribed to them by medical professionals or if they don't know where they came from.

APD Public Information Officer Cpl. Destiny Silva said pills may resemble candy or legitimate pharmaceutical drugs, but turn out to be counterfeit drugs that could potentially contain fentanyl.

"And, keep in mind, a lethal dose of fentanyl is as small as a grain of sand. So, please, please don’t take anything that you don’t know where it came from," Silva said. 

ATCEMS PIO Christa Stedman echoed Silva's warning, adding that Central Texas has already seen fentanyl-related deaths. 

"You may think that your buddy is giving you a Xanax. And, in fact, it's full of fentanyl and other central nervous system depressants," Stedman said. "And we’re not exaggerating when we say that one pill can kill. And we’ve seen that happen in Central Texas. It’s tragic. We do not want to see that happen anymore, especially on a great weekend."

Travis County Judge Andy Brown said in a statement that in addition to first responders, non-medical ACL staff also have access to naloxone. Here's the full statement:

"Overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in Travis County. Improving access to naloxone is our highest immediate priority to combat this health crisis. As a result, we are working to make sure naloxone is available across the County, including at every event large and small.

"ACL takes safety seriously. Travis County EMS staff working on site already have naloxone. I want to commend and thank ACL, along with the nonprofit Musicares, for taking the initiative to provide a significant number of additional doses of naloxone to non-medical ACL staff as well. Travis County and a local nonprofit also provided over 60 doses of naloxone to bartenders working at ACL who will then have this when they return to their jobs bartending in our community.

"In Travis County and across the United States, we know people are taking drugs that are not prescribed to them, often leading to deadly outcomes. I fully support saving lives by providing overdose-reversing drugs like naloxone without barriers."

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