Police warn about fentanyl

TROY — According to Idaho law enforcement, one of the most alarming issues with the rise of fentanyl is its effect on young people.

“We are seeing our children die from these fentanyl poisonings at an alarming rate not only in Idaho but across the country,” said Idaho State Police Capt. John Kempf.

Kempf joined other law enforcement officials to give a community presentation about fentanyl Wednesday at Troy High School. Kempf said education is one of the key components in curbing the problem as simply arresting offenders is not enough.

ISP Sgt. Jess Stennett said overdoses are the most common cause of death for Americans age 18-45. While overall drug use is down among teens, overdoses in that age group are on the rise because of how lethal drugs like fentanyl are.

“This is beyond anything we’ve ever seen before,” he said.

Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Olson said the county sees an average of one fentanyl overdose per week, though not all are fatal. He said it is common to see drug users who have their own Narcan, which can sometimes be used to revive someone who has overdosed.

According to the presentation, there have already been nearly 700 drug overdoses in Idaho this year, and 21 of those were fatal as of Wednesday evening.

Social media and the internet contribute to fentanyl’s prevalence among young people. Stennett said people can arrange drug purchases online quickly, even if they don’t know who the dealer is. They may not even know what they’re buying has fentanyl in it.

It can commonly be consumed in pill form at a cheap price. Kempf said it runs about $1.50 a pill. It can also be smoked, injected or snorted. It is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

It is extremely addictive and leads to severe withdrawal symptoms such as vomiting, muscle aches and insomnia. Stennett said fentanyl often shows up in counterfeit pills such as fake Adderall. He warned that any pill not provided by a doctor is unsafe.

Latah County Sheriff Richie Skiles said he would like to have more staff members so his department can be proactive in preventing the rise in fentanyl in the community instead of “just going from call to call.”

“It’s going to be out of control,” he said.

He also will make another budget request to add a K-9 to his staff in an attempt to better locate drugs like fentanyl. The Moscow Police Department currently has a K-9 on staff named Ragnar.

Kempf said simply making arrests will not solve this crisis. He said communities need to be educated about fentanyl and work with law enforcement on diversion and treatment programs.

“We do have to kind of take every approach we can,” he said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.