Tulsa Co. Jail Quickly Going Through Narcan Supply Due To Fentanyl Overdoses

Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado said 56 inmates have overdosed on fentanyl in the Tulsa County jail in the last six months.

"They vape it, they snort it, they ingest it. It is just rampant,” said Regalado.

He said they were able to save all but one of the inmates by using Narcan, but it's wiping out their Narcan supply.

He said it used to take a dose or two to revive someone. But now, it takes twice that.

Just recently, it took 13 doses just to bring back one inmate and the sheriff said they can't keep up.

"They will use their body cavities. They use the mail system so if people on the outside send them mail, they are able to melt down the fentanyl and attach it to the sticky part on envelopes. It has been smuggled in through vendors. You name it. They are pretty ingenious of getting it in,” said Regalado.

Regalado said fentanyl is a crisis across the country, and it's no different inside the Tulsa County jail.

He said they have security measures in place like full body scans and shake downs, but inmates have 24 hours a day to do nothing but figure out creative ways to get their drugs, which leaves jail staff playing catch up.

"It is a perfect storm of a fentanyl crisis being entered into our country, communities and towns and on the flip side of that, instead of directing resources to addressing peoples addictions, we are actually enabling them by legalizing drugs and ‘misdemeanorizing’ felony drug laws,” said Regalado.

Regalado said the biggest problem is addiction, and resources need to be put toward addressing that, or law enforcement will never be able to keep up.

"Of those 56 overdoses, those were committed in the presence of other inmates. And yet, they will tell you, it doesn't deter them because it is such an addiction problem," Regalado said.

Regalado said inmates have told jail workers they know the dangers, but they also know Narcan will save their life. The jail used 280 doses of Narcan in the last six months.

"We are willing to do that because we are saving these people's lives on a daily basis. But at some point we are going to come to a head and we may not have the resources. Narcan may not work as effectively as it once used to," Regalado said.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said 300 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021 and it keeps getting worse.