Opioid Overdose Prevention
An overdose occurs when a person uses more of a drug, or combination of drugs, than the body can handle. As a result, the brain is not able to control basic life functions. The person may pass out, stop breathing, have heart failure, or experience seizures.
Anyone can overdose: first time users, long-time users, people using prescription medication, old people, young people, people being released from jail or treatment, etc. There is no exact formula for determining how much of a certain drug or combination of drugs, will lead to an overdose.
An individual’s physical characteristics play a role: weight, health, tolerance for a drug at that particular time, drug potency, route of administration, frequency/amount of use or how much they have eaten that day.