LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report shows Nevada is one of two states that saw a rise in predicted drug overdose deaths in 2024.
“Somebody had heroin,” Giuseppe Mandell recalled. “And they shot me up.”
Mandell shared his journey through addiction.
“I was a good kid at Bishop Gorman,” he recalled. “I never had detention or my shirt untucked.”
It all started with pain pills after a high school football injury and spiraled out of control, he told 8 News Now.
“I was an all-state athlete there,” Mandell said. “I never would have thought that I’d be on drugs.”
Mandell said his life wasn’t his own for years, and he even ended up living on the street until he made a change six years ago.
“Just being sick and tired and sick and tired,” Mandell said. “And I finally got sober after a long time.”
He told 8 News Now he now uses the power of his story, working with Optima Healing and Recovery, to help others still struggling.
“You’d be surprised at the calls I get on a daily basis,” Mandell said. “Just so many people that are your neighbors, your physicians, your politicians, all the way to the person who just gave money on the street.”
The CDC released its latest numbers of drug overdose deaths by state.
Nevada saw 1,492 predicted cases in 2024, a 3.47% increase from the previous year.
This is a contrast from the rest of the country, which was listed as a 26.9% drop on average.
“Keep in mind, it’s an unwinnable war,” Mandell said. “We just have to keep winning in each individual battle.”
He told 8 News Now that tackling the trend isn’t easy, but it starts with family and community support.
“The biggest thing is access to care,” Mandell said. “And knowing where to go and how to get it.”
He encouraged education and asked anyone who could to carry Narcan and take action when the worst happened, all to make a difference and save lives.
“Now it’s fentanyl. Then you got xylazine,” he said. “Then you got god knows what comes next.”
The other state that saw an uptick was South Dakota, which recorded a 2.3% jump in predicted overdose deaths.
Mandell told 8 News Now that first responders and medical professionals make a significant difference in addiction situations as their skills and training adapt over time.
Drug overdoses remain the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45. Overdoses involving Fentanyl remain a main driver, as overdoses of the synthetic drug have become more common than heroin and other opioids.
