In the last two weeks, Honolulu Emergency Services Director James Ireland has responded to five overdoses with the department.
According to Ireland, the department responds to at least one fentanyl overdose per day.
"(Our paramedics are) going on these daily or talking to the survivors," Ireland told the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday. "We're hearing that a lot of them think they're doing cocaine, and in fact, it turns out to be fentanyl. They had no idea they were doing fentanyl."
The Honolulu fire and police departments both carry naloxone, an overdose-reversing drug. This allows first responders to administer Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, before paramedics arrive.
"Our thought is, the earlier you can get the Narcan deployed when someone's maybe unconscious, but still breathing, they can actually make a full recovery," Ireland said.
Days after fatal overdoses at a Waikīkī hotel, the City Council considered a bill to require naloxone at certain establishments that sell alcohol. Bill 28 would be applicable to bars, pubs, nightclubs and other high-risk venues.
It offers a way to potentially save a life.
Heather Lusk, executive director of the Hawai'i Health & Harm Reduction Center, said Narcan available at nightclubs has already saved lives.
"We're seeing a lot more overdoses especially related to fentanyl, in our islands, and events last year had the most ever and well, unfortunately, we're already looking at breaking that record this year," Lusk said.
Lusk said there's been a larger intersect of fentanyl with the nightclub scene, according to law enforcement partners.
The center already offers free naloxone kits, and both free online and in-person training on how to use it.
"We're willing to provide these trainings too. In fact, we already have done some at some of the nightclubs and they've been very well received," Lusk told HPR. "We're willing to go to the clubs as well as encourage people to come to our website if they want to do it in their own time."
In 2021, the state Department of Health recorded 74 fatal opioid deaths.
This past legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill to legalize fentanyl test strips, which Gov. Josh Green has indicated he will sign. And in March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved selling the most common version of naloxone without a prescription.
Rep. Adrian Tam, whose district includes Waikīkī, said it's more beneficial for lawmakers to treat substance abuse and addiction as a public health crisis.
Tam said he’s watching the city council’s bill closely.
"I am considering introducing legislation that would mirror the current bill in Honolulu, I want to see how it works out at the city level first before to see if we can do it on a statewide basis," Tam said Wednesday.
Bill 28 passed a second hearing on Wednesday. The bill will be on the Housing, Sustainability and Health committee agenda on June 21.
