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Opioid Related Data for Santa Barbara County
The Santa Barbara Opioid Safety Coalition is committed to tracking the following indicators of opioid use, treatment and prevention initiatives, and the impact of opioid use on our community. We will be updating these indicators as well as adding new data elements as they become available. Please continue to check this page, or sign up for updates from the coalition.
Additional data on the opioid crisis in Santa Barbara County can be found in the following report: The Changing Overdose Crisis in Santa Barbara County: A Community Needs Assessment. The report was authored by Kendall Cortelyou, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Central Florida Director Data, Analytics, and Strategy, Project Opioid with assistance from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Robert Minter. Download the full report here.
Santa Barbara County’s Opioid Rx Rate Mirrors a Statewide Decline
The rate of opioid prescriptions began a notable decline in Santa Barbara County in 2016. However, the rate has remained slightly but consistently higher than the state average. Overall, the opioid prescription rate declined by 45% from 2008 to 2022.
Opioid Prescription Rates Vary Across the County
Opioid prescription rates in the City of Santa Maria were more than twice as high as rates in Goleta in 2021. Overall, rates in Santa Maria and Lompoc are higher than the county, state and the City of Santa Barbara.
An Average of 1 in 10 High School Students Report Misusing Prescription Medications
The percentage of students at public high schools and non-traditional schools who have reported having taken prescription pain medications (opioids), tranquilizers, sedatives, diet pills, and/or other prescription stimulants for non-medical reasons.
Source: California Healthy Kids Survey 2020-2021
Opioids Are the Drug of First Choice for 35% of Adults Seeking Treatment
Of the 2,138 adults admitted to County-funded treatment programs from April – June, 2023, 35% reported that opioids were their primary drug of choice. Stimulant use (methamphetamines and cocaine) is rising, cited by 25% of treatment clients as the primary drugs used.
Opioid use is also rising among the 253 youth admitted to County-funded treatment programs in this quarter, with 7% of youth reporting opioids as their primary drug of choice and 3.3% reporting stimulant use.
Source: Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness Alcohol and Drug Programs
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s Response to Adverse Events Related to Opioids
Roughly every other day, a patient is treated at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for an opioid overdose. Cottage Hospital’s Addiction Consultation Service identifies an average of 44 patients a month who are diagnosed with an Opioid Use Disorder. If appropriate, they are encouraged to begin Medication Assisted Treatment. In the past year, 190 patients chose to initiate MAT during their hospital stay.
Source: Cottage Health Addiction Consult Services data: April 2022 – April 2023
Countywide ED Visits for Opioid Overdoses are Higher Than the Statewide Rate
Santa Barbara County is hardly immune to how the opioid epidemic impacts the health care system, with rates of ED visits for opioid overdoses that are higher than statewide rates, and rates for hospitalizations for opioid overdoses that are similar to those statewide.
Rates for ED visits cited here are a 12-month rolling average ending in the second quarter of 2022. Rates for hospitalizations are a 12-month rolling average ending in the 4th quarter of 2021.
Twice a Week, Someone in Santa Barbara County Dies from an Overdose Involving Opioids
Overdose deaths that involved opioids increased from 38 in 2017 to 121 in 2022. Most (95%) of these deaths in 2022 were due to Fentanyl. Deaths due to opioids represented 72% of all alcohol and drug related overdose deaths in 2022.
Source: Santa Barbara County Coroner
Fentanyl and Stimulants Are Increasingly Involved in Overdose Deaths
There are often multiple drugs involved in an overdose death. In 2022, 68% of all alcohol and drug-related overdose deaths involved fentanyl, either alone or in combination with stimulants like methamphetamine or cocaine. Stimulants were co-involved with opioids in 40% of overdose deaths. Stimulants are increasingly being adulterated with fentanyl, often without the user’s knowledge.
The number of deaths involving fentanyl has increased from 12 in 2017 to 115 in 2022. The number of deaths involving stimulants in combination with opioids, has increased from 13 in 2017 to 68 in 2022.
Source: Santa Barbara County Coroner
Deaths from Opioid and Stimulant Overdoses are Highest in South County
The number of overdose deaths involving opioids or stimulants are highest in South Santa Barbara County. However, the percentage of total countywide overdose deaths from these substances occurring in South County has declined from 63% in 2017 to 45% in 2022. The percentage of total deaths occurring in Mid County (a smaller, more rural population) has increased the most, from 16% in 2017 to 28% in 2022. The percentage of total deaths occurring in North County increased from 22% in 2017 to 27% in 2022.
Source: Santa Barbara County Coroner
Opioid and Stimulant Overdose Deaths Peak Among 35-39 Age Group in 2022
The tragedy of overdose deaths from opioids or stimulants is that it often strikes early in life. Overdose deaths in Santa Barbara County were highest in the 35-39 age group (28 deaths) in 2022, increasing by 61% from 2021. In 2021 deaths peaked in both the 25-29 and 55-59 age groups.
Sadly, in 2021 deaths among 15-24 year olds (18) had more than doubled from the previous year. All of these deaths were due to fentanyl. In 2022, deaths in this age group declined by 50% to 9 deaths.
In 2021, deaths among 25-29 year olds (17) had risen 89% from the previous year. In 2022, deaths in this age group declined to 14 deaths.
Source: Santa Barbara County Coroner
Men are 4 Times More Likely than Women to Die from an Opioid or Stimulant Overdose
Over the past four years, overdose deaths from opioids and stimulants in Santa Barbara County have been three to four times higher among men than among women.
Overdose victims are overrepresented by males at 80% of the overdose victims, but only 50% of the population of Santa Barbara County.
Source: Santa Barbara County Coroner
Whites are Overrepresented Among Overdose Death Victims; However Deaths Among Hispanics Are Growing
In 2021, 36% of the overdose deaths in Santa Barbara County were in the Hispanic population, while 57% were among the White population. Because Whites represent 43.8% of the County’s population and Hispanics represent 46%, there is an overrepresentation of White victims.
However, overdose deaths in the Hispanic population have increased about 114% (22 to 47) between 2019 and 2021, while White overdose deaths have increased 17% (65 to 76) during this same time.
Source: Santa Barbara Sheriff’ Coroner’s Data
In 2021, Naloxone Administration Saved at least 727 Lives in Santa Barbara County
Naloxone (Narcan), which is used to reverse overdoses from opioids and fentanyl, was administered in at least 727 cases in 2021, according to data from Santa Barbara County Emergency Medical Services Agency.
Over the last four years, there were 1,101 self-reports of naloxone being used to reverse overdoses, according to data from Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness. This data does not include naloxone administered by first responders.
Local Use of Buprenorphine to Treat Opioid Use Disorder is Higher Than the Statewide Average
Buprenorphine, which is used to prevent opioid deaths and to increase retention in treatment programs, jumped by 115% over a decade. Following a decline in 2019 – 2020, local use of buprenorphine is once again on the rise. Use of buprenorphine is a sign of increasing access to opioid addiction treatment, and in Santa Barbara County the rate has remained higher than the state’s rate.
