International Overdose Awareness Day falls on August 31, and the number that ought to define it in Georgia is not the death toll. It is the survivals. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for drug overdose in this state rose from 24,682 in 2019 to 26,062 in 2022. Each of those is a person who lived — and the weeks immediately after a non-fatal overdose are among the highest-risk periods for a fatal one. That window is also the point at which treatment changes outcomes most, and it is routinely wasted because nobody tells the family what to do next.
The scale of the underlying problem is worth stating plainly. DPH reports that between 2019 and 2022, drug overdose deaths in Georgia increased by 76 percent, and fentanyl-involved overdose deaths increased by 308 percent. Fentanyl is now in a large share of the illicit supply, including counterfeit pills pressed to look like prescription medication and powders sold as something else entirely. The adulterant xylazine has compounded the picture, because it is not an opioid and does not respond to naloxone, which means an overdose involving it can look only partially reversed. People are not overdosing because they miscalculated a familiar dose. They are overdosing because the supply is no longer what anyone believes it to be.
Naloxone is the single most important thing to have in the house. It temporarily blocks the effects of opioids and restores breathing, it cannot harm someone who is not experiencing an opioid overdose, and it requires no medical training to use. Georgia has made access far easier: naloxone is now sold over the counter at most major pharmacies, harm reduction organizations across the state distribute it free, and as of July 1, 2024, Senate Bill 395 — Wesley’s Law — authorizes naloxone in qualified government buildings, courthouses, and school property, and requires local school systems to maintain a supply. If someone in your home uses opioids, or is in early recovery from opioid use, keep two doses somewhere everyone in the house knows about. Tolerance drops during any period of abstinence, which is precisely why the days after detox, discharge, or release from jail are so dangerous.
In an emergency, the steps are simple. Call 911. Give naloxone and repeat after two to three minutes if breathing has not returned, because fentanyl’s potency frequently requires more than one dose. Lay the person on their side. Stay until help arrives — Georgia’s medical amnesty law provides limited protection from certain drug possession charges for people who seek medical assistance in good faith for an overdose, and hesitating out of fear of arrest costs lives. After naloxone wears off, which can happen within thirty to ninety minutes, the opioid may still be active in the body, so emergency evaluation matters even when the person appears fully recovered.
Then comes the part almost nobody plans for: the next morning. The most protective thing available at that point is medication for opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone are the most effective treatments we have for opioid addiction, and starting medication soon after an overdose measurably reduces the risk of another one. This is not swapping one drug for another — it is stabilizing a brain that has been physiologically altered, so that therapy has something to work with. Our medication-assisted treatment program in Georgia pairs those medications with clinical care, and where withdrawal needs medical supervision first, detox comes before it.
If you are reading this in the days after an overdose — your own or someone else’s — the useful thing to know is that the window is open right now and it does not stay open long. Get naloxone into the house today. Get an assessment scheduled this week, not next month. Ask specifically about medication, because a program that treats opioid use disorder without offering it is working with one hand tied. And if the person is not ready, keep the naloxone anyway and keep the door open; readiness has a way of arriving suddenly, and what matters is that they are alive when it does. You can read about fentanyl addiction treatment in Atlanta or call us to talk through options confidentially.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get naloxone in Georgia?
Naloxone is available over the counter at most major pharmacies for a fee, and harm reduction organizations across Georgia distribute it free of charge. The Georgia Department of Public Health maintains information and a list of distributing agencies.
Does naloxone work on fentanyl and xylazine?
Naloxone reverses opioid overdoses including those involving fentanyl, though fentanyl’s potency often requires more than one dose. Xylazine is not an opioid and does not respond to naloxone, so always call 911 and still give naloxone, since opioids are usually present as well.
What is the risk of another overdose after surviving one?
The period immediately following a non-fatal overdose carries a substantially elevated risk of a repeat overdose. Reduced tolerance after any break in use adds to that risk. Starting medication for opioid use disorder during this window is the most effective way to lower it.
