Local entities, such as the Valley AIDS Council, Harlingen Police Department and the Emergency Room at Valley Baptist Medical Center, have seen an increase in opioid overdose.
Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, but the Valley AIDS Council is carrying out a month-long initiative to bring more awareness to the problem of overdose.
There are two basic types of overdose: opiates and stimulants. An opiate overdose causes people to become lethargic and a stimulant overdose makes them combative.
Narcan is used to treat opiate overdose, and the Harlingen Police Department is looking at using ketamine to treat stimulant overdose.
