Kansas’s fentanyl crisis is a “very dangerous situation,” according to law enforcement officials, as the synthetic opioid has caused approximately 80 percent of drug overdose deaths in one of the state’s most populous areas.
Authorities from Sedgwick County, which has a population of more than 520,000 people, revealed that police seized a whopping 750,000 fentanyl pills so far in 2024, KWCH12 reported Thursday.
Even with the massive police efforts to crack down on drug trafficking, the problem is far from over.
“This stuff is extremely strong. We’re not seeing where one dose of Narcan is bringing people back. It’s multiple doses that we’re having to administer, and the most we’ve administered to somebody is five,” Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter told the local outlet.
“It’s very dangerous. If it’s not cut with something before it comes here, if it’s straight fentanyl powder, that type of pow[d]er can soak through your system; you can breathe it,” he explained.
Easter hopes that additions to police staff and opioid settlement money will lead to a substantial change in the area.
“We’re hoping, in the future, we can get on the front end of this, which means prevention, education, treatment, recovery services that would be more robust than we have,” he said.
According to the Douglas County Citizen’s Committee on Alcoholism, Inc. (DCCCA), more training needs to be made available on how to use the opioid overdose-reversal drug, Naloxone — commonly known as Narcan.
“(We are) seeing fentanyl being used with cocaine or methamphetamine, and, so, there’s a lot of education on that, as well, because we know that Naloxone only works on opioids, and, so, when you have another substance, it creates a whole other safety situation,” DCCCA Community Support Specialist Stacy Haines told KWCH.
Since launching a Naloxone vending machine at a central Wichita bail bonds establishment, more than 2,800 kits have been dispensed to those who need it.
“It’s nice to have that 24-7 access, 365 days a year, right there at 705 N. Broadway,” Haines said. “So, we’re glad that we can provide that.”
According to seven-time New York Times best-selling author Peter Schweizer, “our country is at war” with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese crime rings who poison Americans with fentanyl after trafficking it across the southern border.
“Our country is at war, and we need to wake up to the fact that we are at war, and war is being waged on us,” Schweizer warned during a February discussion with radio host Mark Levin.
“Part of this is what China’s doing to us. The other part is why our leaders are letting them do it, and they’re not even calling them out. Gavin Newsom is a prime example of that,” he continued, explaining why powerful U.S. figures turn a blind eye while China kills Americans, as detailed in his latest book, Blood Money.
“Meanwhile, fentanyl deaths in California are up more than 1,200 percent since 2016,” the author said, blasting California Gov. Newsom (D) for refusing to hold the CCP accountable.
According to Levin, Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans is an “absolutely crucial book.”