Shasta County Public Health made a presentation to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday about the growing toll that Fentanyl is taking on the community. It’s the fastest growing driver of overdoses in the country, and it’s found a home in Shasta County. Public health officials say that in 2020 there were seven deaths resulting from Fentanyl use. Last year there were 40 Fentanyl fatalities. Between 2019 and 2021, Naloxone was used to counter overdoses almost 500 times. Fentanyl is a synthetic Opioid about 100 times more potent than Morphine. It’s often pressed into counterfeit prescription painkiller pills and also mixed with other illegal drugs such as Heroin, Cocaine and Methamphetamine. The drug dealers who are processing the highly concentrated powder are not equipped to make the precise measurements to prevent overdosing their customers, who often are unaware that the drugs they’re buying even contain Fentanyl. Just 2 Milligrams is considered a lethal dose. Shasta County Public Health says people counterfeit pills being sold locally are often blue and sometimes marked with an “M” and a “30”. Fentanyl test strips and the overdose medication Naloxone can be obtained from public health at 225-5591.