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Bexar County commissioners declared on Tuesday that drug overdoses in the county represented a public health crisis.
County Public Health Director Andrea Guerrero-Guajardo explained that "our Bexar County medical examiner reports that in 2023, opioids specifically were involved in more than 40% of deaths that came through her office."
Commissioners also approved an agreement with the city that will eventually see a combined $200,000 applied to harm reduction strategies, such as the distribution of overdose reversal drugs to first responders.
Bexar County won $290 million in a 2018 lawsuit against drug manufacturers during the national opioid crisis. The money is being plowed into local prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.
Commissioners on Tuesday also approved a $1.9 million agreement with San Antonio Lifetime Recovery to provide inpatient and outpatient services for adults participating in the Alternatives to Incarceration Program through Sept. 30, 2025.
During a presentation on that funding, commissioners learned that methamphetamines and alcohol are also drugs of choice locally among substance abusers, along with opioids — and there are often cross-addictions to treat.
County Sheriff Javier Salazar during a separate presentation also said the mixing of drugs is a local problem, telling commissioners of a suspect arrested in Precinct 1 two weeks ago for allegedly using a "concrete mixer to store and possibly mix" meth and heroin.
