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Tag: synthetic opioids

  • Ohio Cops Find Enough Fentanyl To Wipe Out The Whole State

    Ohio Cops Find Enough Fentanyl To Wipe Out The Whole State

    Authorities also seized 5,000 grams of heroin and 1,500 grams of methamphetamine.

    Even a tiny amount of fentanyl the size of a grain of rice can be fatal, which is why authorities in Ohio were so shocked to seize 20 kilograms of fentanyl during a recent drug bust. 

    Vance Callender, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for Michigan and Ohio, participated in the raid, which included agents from Montogomery County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Attorney General’s Office, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations, according to News 5 Cleveland.

    Callender said, “20 kilograms of fentanyl is enough to kill the entire population of Ohio, many times over. As this significant seizure makes clear, HSI and our partners are united in our resolve to protect our communities and our country from the deadly scourge of drug trafficking. We stand ready to use every tool and resource at our disposal to attack and dismantle these organizations from the low-level dealers to the source of supply with our law enforcement partners.”

    A Weapon Of Mass Destruction

    Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General, that the amount of fentanyl, worth millions, was large enough that it could be thought of as a weapon of mass destruction. He said that the bust highlighted the “enormity of the opioid problem” in his state.

    He added, ”This is an enormous amount of deadly drugs that will no longer be on our streets.”

    At the bust, authorities also seized 5,000 grams of heroin and 1,500 grams of methamphetamine. They recovered about $30,000 in cash and three firearms. 

    Three suspects were charged in connection with the raid: Shamar Davis, 31, Anthony Franklin, 20, and Grady Jackson, 37. They’re facing charges for being felons in possession of firearms and for distributing 400 grams or more of fentanyl.  

    Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said that the men posed a huge danger to the community. 

    “These illegal drugs ruin lives, destroy families, fuel violence, drives up property crime, and wrecks neighborhoods. Anyone associated with it—especially those who sell and traffic it—are doing violence to people and causing harm in our communities,” he said. 

    The Biggest Fentanyl Bust Of The Year

    Although the size of the fentanyl seizure is astounding, it’s not the biggest bust on record. Earlier this year, Customs and Border Protection officials near the Mexican border found more than 100 kilos of fentanyl hidden in a tractor trailer that was also carrying cucumbers, and meth. That seizure, which was made with the help of drug-sniffing dogs, netted fentanyl worth at least $3.5 million, authorities said at the time. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Orange County Sheriffs Seize 18 Pounds Of Fentanyl In Single Bust

    Orange County Sheriffs Seize 18 Pounds Of Fentanyl In Single Bust

    More than 100 pounds of fentanyl have been seized in the OC this year. 

    Sheriffs’ deputies in Orange County, California reported the seizure of 18 pounds of fentanyl, amounting to nearly half of the total amount of fentanyl that OC authorities seized in 2018.

    The bust, which had a reported street value of $1.25 million, was reported by media sources to be enough fentanyl to create “four million lethal doses.”

    Fentanyl-Related Deaths In Orange County Surge

    Though a win for law enforcement, the seizure also underscored the threat posed by fentanyl to Orange County, which has seen a substantial increase in the number of overdose deaths related to the potent synthetic opioid over the last five years.

    According to the Orange County Register, investigators confiscated the fentanyl on October 16, as well as a loaded semi-automatic handgun, five pounds of heroin, a half-pound of methamphetamine, and $71,000 in cash.

    Sheriffs’ deputies also arrested Rudolph Garcia, 60, who was booked on suspicion of possessing fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine, as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was held on $2 million bail.

    OC Sheriffs Have Seized More Than 100 Pounds Of Fentanyl In 2019

    Los Angeles CBS affiliate KCBS quoted the Orange Country sheriff’s department’s figures regarding fentanyl seizures over the last four years, which have risen from less than a pound in 2016 to 44 pounds in 2018. The October 16 bust raised the total amount seized in 2019 to more than 100 pounds.

    “[The October 16 seizure] was enough fentanyl in one seizure to kill the entire county’s 3.2 million residents three times over,” said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes. “It’s very dangerous [and] it’s not getting better. It’s getting worse. And I think as a county, as a state and as a country, we have to get out ahead of this.”

    Fentanyl-related overdose deaths have risen sharply in the state of California over the last half-decade, and Orange County is no exception. In March 2019, the Orange County Register quoted the county coroner’s report from 2018, which found that the number of fentanyl-related deaths increased 164% between 2014 and 2016 before jumping another 54% between 2016 and 2017 alone.

    And according to a Facebook post from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, those numbers skyrocketed between 2017 and 2018, which saw a 149% increase in fentanyl overdose deaths.

    The social media post also noted that the Orange County Crime Lab reported a 101% increase in the presence of fentanyl in various drugs confiscated throughout the county, with 225 drugs found to contain fentanyl in June 2019—again, a staggering increase of 91% from statistics reported in June 2018.

    “The threat this extremely potent drug poses to our community is increasing exponentially, not subsiding,” said Barnes in a statement.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Accidental Opioid Deaths Among Babies, Toddlers Rise

    Accidental Opioid Deaths Among Babies, Toddlers Rise

    Opioid overdoses among children increased more than 268% between 1999 and 2016.

    There is a second, often overlooked group of victims of the opioid crisis: babies and toddlers who are dying of accidental opioid overdoses. 

    Fentanyl Exposure

    One of the most jarring cases is that of 13-month-old Liam Savoy Oneill, who was found dead in September beside his father, Patrick Savoy Oneill, 29. Patrick was unresponsive, and later died at the hospital. The pair was found by Liam’s mother, Emily Guillory. 

    Authorities believe that Patrick overdosed, and Liam was exposed to fentanyl that was left around, according to Fox 10.

    “The officers who arrived at the scene located narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia in the bedroom, near where both of them were discovered,” said Santa Rosa Police Department Lt. Dan Marincik. ”It’s something you wouldn’t wish anybody to experience, it was tough on our officers, and I can only imagine what the family is going through,”

    Guillory said that Patrick had been attending NA meetings, and that he never would have intentionally harmed Liam. 

    A 268% Increase In Accidental Overdoses Among Children

    It’s difficult to know exactly how many children are dying of opioid overdoses, but research published last year found that opioid overdoses among children increased more than 268% between 1999 and 2016.

    Most of the deaths were among teens ages 15-19, but the authors noted, “time trends revealed a steady linear increase among children aged 0 to 4 years and those aged 5 to 9 years.”

    Last Christmas, an 18-month-old in Michigan died after ingesting an “extraordinary” amount of fentanyl. Authorities said that the girl’s parents were packaging the drug in their home, and she accidentally ingested it.

    “The nation is experiencing an opioid epidemic. However, to see an infant experience such a tragic death on Christmas morning as a result of ingesting a large quantity of her parents’ fentanyl is truly gut-wrenching,” Eric Smith, Macomb County prosecutor, said in a news release reported by The Washington Post. 

    Most of the reports of baby and toddler deaths involve a child getting into drugs that had been left around their home. Usually the exposure is accidental—but sometimes, it’s intentional. Last month, a Maine mother was charged in connection with the death of her one-year-old daughter. 

    Kimberly Nelligan, 33, admitted that she had rubbed what she believed to be heroin on the girl’s gums in order to help her sleep, according to The Bangor News. Nelligan said she had done the same with her two older children, but in this case the drugs contained fentanyl, and her daughter was found unresponsive in her crib. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Chemical Warfare Tool Provides Lifesaving Info About What’s In Your Drugs

    Chemical Warfare Tool Provides Lifesaving Info About What’s In Your Drugs

    The MX908 can detect 70 types of fentanyl as well as more than 2,000 yet-unidentified fentanyl analogs.

    A machine intended for use by military and emergency personnel who handle hazardous material has become a lifesaving tool amid the fentanyl epidemic.

    The MX908 mass spectrometer was first marketed as a tool for “elite responders conducting chemical, explosive, priority drug and HazMat operations around the world.” But in places like Boston and Chicago, the machine is a harm reduction tool.

    The MX908 can detect 70 types of fentanyl as well as more than 2,000 yet-unidentified fentanyl analogs.

    WBUR witnessed the machine in action as Sarah Mackin of the Boston Public Health Commission tested a swab sample from the inside of a baggie “that was sold as heroin.”

    “So, there’s multiple kinds of opioid analgesics and multiple kinds of synthetic fentanyls in this sample that was sold as heroin,” she said. “It’s kind of an example of what the drug landscape looks like here.”

    Testing Fentanyl 

    This summer, Massachusetts health officials reported that the presence of fentanyl in the state had reached “an all-time high” despite a decrease in overall opioid-related deaths in 2019.

    One woman named “Bri” who tested drug residue using the machine in July suspected that carfentanil was present in her personal stash and triggered a previous overdose. “Now I’m going to be honest. If I was sick and I had one bag of dope on me and you told me there’s carfentanil in there, I’m not going to lie and say I wouldn’t use it. But I would know not to put the entire thing in,” she told WBUR.

    Proponents of the MX908 say that by having access to clear information about their drugs, people like Bri are empowered, in a way, to mitigate their risk and avoid overdose.

    The Chicago Recovery Alliance invested in two MX908s as part of its new drug-checking program that launched in March.

    Pricey & Legal-ish

    However, those seeking to make the machine available to more people are hindered by the “legal gray area” of drug checking and its hefty price tag. One machine costs $65,000.

    A trial of the MX908 in Boston is currently on hold while they determine if the practice is legal.

    As WBUR notes, fentanyl test strips are a much more cost-effective method of detecting fentanyl, at $1 per strip.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Fentanyl-Related Deaths Skyrocket In California

    Fentanyl-Related Deaths Skyrocket In California

    Overdose deaths related to fentanyl rose more than 1,000% between 2014 and 2018 in the state.

    The recent overdose-related death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs has brought to light a troubling statistic for the state of California: while new opioid prescriptions and drug-related emergency room visits have dropped in the Golden State since 2014, overdose deaths related to the synthetic opioid fentanyl have risen sharply over the same time period.

    The East Bay Times examined the increase in a feature that showed that overdose deaths related to fentanyl rose more than 1,000% between 2014 and 2018, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

    Phantom Fentanyl

    The blame for the increase was laid in part on what the Times called “phantom fentanyl”—pills made from fentanyl and cut to resemble prescription drugs such as the prescription painkiller oxycodone, which were also in part responsible for the death of rapper Mac Miller in 2018—as well as changes to the legal system which have reduced the number of offenders entering treatment programs.

    The health department data referenced by the Times found that in 2014, 15 people died from fentanyl overdoses in Los Angeles County. Four years later, the death toll had risen to 202—an increase of 1,247%. Statewide, fentanyl deaths also rose 614% during the four-year period, for a total of 1,649 fatalities.

    The increase of counterfeit pharmaceuticals made with fentanyl was seen as the primary cause of the increase. Counterfeit pills can be made for $1 each, according to the Times, and sold for 20 times that amount on the black market. Both Skaggs and Mac Miller succumbed to overdoses caused by fentanyl and oxycodone in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

    But the Times also cited the opinion of state law enforcement, which suggested that the passage of Proposition 47—which categorized non-violent offenses like drug or property crimes as misdemeanors, which are imposed without jail time—may have had an impact.

    Removing those individuals from the two-pronged diversionary approach to drugs afforded by incarceration—the penalty of imprisonment and the opportunity to attend treatment programs in jail—has led to a “reduction in people attending treatment programs,” according to Jodi Miller, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

    Narcan Availability And Fentanyl Strips Could Make A Difference

    The increased availability of the opioid-overdose reversal drug Narcan could make a difference in fatality statistics, but Department of Public Health officials also suggested that greater access to fentanyl test strips—which can detect the presence of the opioid in urine and in drugs themselves—could also have an impact. However, access to test strips is currently limited to harm reduction-oriented programs, according to the Times.

    Los Angeles County has also launched a public education program on prescription pain medication abuse in English and Spanish as a means of combating death rates in an area which saw some of the most significant increases—404 overdose deaths, including half in 2018 alone—in overdose fatality rates.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • FBI Raid Uncovers Fentanyl Operation At DC Government Office

    FBI Raid Uncovers Fentanyl Operation At DC Government Office

    A DC government employee was caught selling drugs, sometimes right outside of his office building.

    The FBI raided a Washington, D.C. government office last week and discovered a cache of the deadly opioid fentanyl. The drugs allegedly belonged to Darrell Marcellus Pope, who worked at—and sold drugs from—the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

    Pope was arrested and charged with selling fentanyl. He and his wife, who also worked in the office, are currently on leave.

    Inside The Operation

    The scheme was discovered by undercover agents who reportedly caught Pope selling fentanyl, claiming they observed him selling the stuff just outside his office, often just a few feet away from an elementary school.

    The scope of Pope’s operation spanned Woodbridge, Virginia, Clinton, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Drivers in the scheme would drive clients from Virginia to D.C. for the express purpose of making an illicit purchase.

    According to DCist, Undercover agents then set up a sting operation during which Pope allegedly sold agents fentanyl and/or heroin nine times over the course of a month.

    According to court documents, Pope sold his wares at $100 a gram and carried a handgun to at least one sale.

    The FBI allegedly confiscated “at least one ounce” of the suspected fentanyl from Pope’s home, an “additional quantity of suspected fentanyl” in his workspace, and 30 more grams on his person. Pope’s co-workers knew about the FBI raid, according to a spokesperson, but the fentanyl was definitely a surprise.

    A government employee working at the heart of our nation isn’t the only surprising fentanyl dealer in recent news.

    Ex-Eagle Scout Turned Fentanyl Kingpin

    Aaron Shamo, a 29-year-old former Eagle Scout in Salt Lake City, Utah, faces a mandatory life sentence for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar opioid scheme. His operation created hundreds of thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.

    Shamo started on this dark path when he met his co-conspirator, Drew Crandall, who worked with him at an eBay call center. The pair formulated a scheme to sell their Adderall prescriptions on the dark web before eventually using those profits to purchase and sell harder drugs, including cocaine and MDMA.

    They got their network of friends to receive drug shipments at their addresses.

    Not long after, the pair got into the business of pressing their own pills, first starting with fake Xanax made of the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam, then moving on to their deadly fentanyl products. According to ABC News, the two would sell thousands of pills a week at $10 a pop.

    Their business faltered as people became sick or died from taking their pills. Their operation came to an end when a customs agent intercepted a shipment of fentanyl destined for Shamo’s operation.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Authorities Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 14 Million People From Drug Ring

    Authorities Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 14 Million People From Drug Ring

    Law enforcement seized 30 kilograms of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine, 24 firearms and over $700,000 in cash in the massive bust.

    More than two-dozen law enforcement agencies descended on a drug-trafficking ring based in Virginia, and seized enough fentanyl to reportedly kill 14 million people.

    Federal prosecutors announced on August 29 that 35 individuals were arrested in Virginia, North Carolina and Texas for their alleged roles in the distribution organization, which was based in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Thirty kilograms of fentanyl, as well as 30 kilograms of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine, 24 firearms and over $700,000 in cash were also seized as part of “Operation Cookout.”

    Co-Conspirators

    Over 120 law enforcement officers were involved in the arrests, which were the culmination of a two-year investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.

    According to the 108-page indictment, 39 co-conspirators, ages 19 to 63, were allegedly involved in what federal prosecutors described as a “large-scale drug trafficking organization” that began in March 2016.

    The 35 defendants and unindicted co-conspirators purchased narcotics from suppliers on both coasts and in Mexico and then have them shipped to their base of operations in the metropolitan region of Hampton Roads using a variety of transportation vehicles equipped with “hidden traps.” Reportedly, one suspect also requested fentanyl from a dealer in Shanghai, who shipped the drug to them via the U.S. Postal Service.

    Inside The Trafficking Ring

    Prosecutors also alleged that the defendants and co-conspirators used locations throughout the Hampton Roads area to prepare heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and cocaine base for distribution, as well as to meet and discuss future narcotics sales and distribution. 

    The co-conspirators reportedly used at least 94 different communication devices, pre-paid cell phones, as well as encrypted apps like FaceTime, to arrange locations for selling and buying drugs, as well as other “day-to-day operations,” as the indictment noted. 

    The 35 defendants arrested in Operation Cookout were charged with 106 counts of alleged offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribution cocaine, heroin, cocaine base and fentanyl; conspiracy to launder money; felon in possession of a firearm; interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises; and illegal re-entry by a previously deported or removed alien.

    The indictment only alleged that the defendants committed a crime, and are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

    “This massive interdiction of narcotics, which included enough fentanyl to kill over 14 million people, is proof positive of the power and strength of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This operation, through its seizure of scores of kilograms of illicit narcotics, saved lives in the Eastern District and elsewhere. Any day where we can do that is particularly meaningful and impactful.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • West Virginia, Ohio Top National Drug Overdose Death Rates

    West Virginia, Ohio Top National Drug Overdose Death Rates

    Midwest states were among those with the lowest overdose death rates in the country.

    Statistics from the CDC show that drug overdose death rates in the United States rose nearly 10% between 2016 and 2017, with the highest death rates occurring in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions of the country.

    Though all points in the U.S. saw significant increases during this time period, three states experienced the highest overdose death rates—West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky—as well as the District of Columbia. Opioids were involved in more than half of the overdose fatalities.

    As shown by the CDC data, drug overdose deaths in the United States rose 9.6% between 2016 and 2017; the death toll from drug overdoses reached 70,237. Opioids were involved in 67.8% of those deaths, and of that number, the CDC stated that synthetic opioids other than methadone were the primary cause of death.

    Big Increases

    Twenty-three states saw what the CDC described as “significant” increases in drug overdose deaths during this time period, including Alabama, California, Illinois, Maine, New York and Wisconsin. Though certain states had substantially high increases from 2016 to 2017—death rates in Maine rose 19.9% during this period—the number of deaths per year in these states were actually lower on a year-to-year basis than other states.

    For example, Ohio’s death rate percentage between 2016 and 2017 was 18.4%, but the actual number of deaths in that state during those years, when adjusted for age and size of population, was significantly higher in the Buckeye State (4,329 per 100,000 in 2016 and 5,111 in 2017) than in Maine (353 per 100,000 in 2016 and 424 in 2017).

    When age and number of residents was factored into the individual states’ rates, Ohio ranked second in highest death rates, with 46.3 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2017; it was preceded by West Virginia (57.8 per 100,000) and followed by the District of Columbia (44 per 100,000)—which actually saw a decrease, percentage wise, between 2016 and 2017—and Kentucky (37.2 per 100,000). 

    The Lowest Death Rates

    The states with the lowest death rates in 2017 were North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota, each of which either dropped or experienced death rates below 6% between 2016 and 2017.

    Response to the epidemic by state-run agencies has made improvements in death rates for 2018 and beyond.

    The New York Times noted that areas in Ohio, including the city of Dayton, have utilized federal and state grants to help reduce opioid prescriptions, expand access to the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone, and increase addiction treatment to residents and prison inmates. As a result, emergency room visits dropped by more than 60% between January 2017 and June of 2018.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Ohio County Overdose Wave Leaves At Least 3 Dead

    Ohio County Overdose Wave Leaves At Least 3 Dead

    Officials were alarmed when 23 emergency calls involving suspected overdose cases were received in the county in under 24 hours.

    Police officers in Hamilton County reported an unusual spike in overdose cases last weekend that was likely due to a batch of methamphetamine mixed with fentanyl that was sold as ecstasy pills.

    As many as 10 of the overdose cases resulted in death, though the coroner’s office has yet to confirm if overdose was the root cause in all the area deaths that occurred since June 19.

    Regardless, officials were alarmed when 23 emergency calls involving suspected overdose cases were received in the county in under 24 hours. Overall, they fielded 54 calls from early Friday to early Monday.

    On Saturday, the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition sent out an alert to the local populace due to the high number of overdoses. Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan, a co-chair of the Heroin Coalition, believes that the root cause is the highly potent opioid fentanyl.

    “Late in May, Tom Fallon, investigative commander for the heroin task force, said investigators learned that a drug supplier was mixing fentanyl with meth and then adding red, yellow or blue food coloring and pressing the mixture into a pill form to be sold as ecstasy,” reports The Cincinnati Enquirer. “The task force has also found other fake pressed-pills sold on the street as pain pills in recent months that were tainted with fentanyl.”

    Fallon also noted that there’s been a similar problem with crack cocaine being mixed with fentanyl. This has been an increasing issue across the country as drug sellers learn that adding small amounts of the opioid to a batch of drugs can seriously enhance the effects.

    However, since fentanyl is up to 100 times more potent than morphine, just a tiny bit too much can result in a dangerous overdose. Mixing drugs also always increases that risk.

    This problem has led experts to name fentanyl as the key driver in a “third wave” of the U.S. opioid epidemic. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that deaths involving the drug have doubled every year since 2013.

    Ohio has seen a surge in these kinds of overdoses since April, particularly on the weekends. Because individuals who are addicted to opioids generally can’t wait until the weekend, this tells authorities like Synan that many of the victims are not addicted to this type of drug.

    In fact, those who have not built up a tolerance to opioids are especially vulnerable to fatal overdose if they take fentanyl, which is why fentanyl is only prescribed to individuals who are already opioid-tolerant.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Unfounded Fears Linger About Accidental Exposure to Fentanyl

    Unfounded Fears Linger About Accidental Exposure to Fentanyl

    Lawmakers have introduced a new bill that perpetuates fears about fentanyl that many physicians consider unfounded.

    Though a wealth of information has been made public about the relatively low risk presented by accidental exposure to the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, lawmakers, law enforcement and media outlets continue to issue warnings and even propose legislation to provide safeguards to prevent overdose.

    A recent article in Reason cited a bill put forward by a bipartisan group of Congressmen that would allocate federal money to local police for drug screening devices that was spurred in part by concern over exposure to fentanyl. 

    It also quoted recent comments from a Toledo, Ohio newspaper and New York State police chief, both of which voiced concern over the alleged dangers presented by “even a minute trace of the drug.” Such fears are contrary to countless studies and testimony by medical professionals and health groups, which have stated that casual skin exposure to fentanyl presents little chance of significant harm than any other drugs.

    The bill, introduced by Representatives Conor Lamb (D-PA), David Joyce (R-OH) and David Trone (D-MD), would establish a new grant program at the Department of Justice that would assist local law enforcement agencies in securing interdiction devices—portable chemical screening technology—that would help officers determine the presence of fentanyl and other drugs at a crime scene.

    “This legislation will increase the safety of our officers and will streamline the substance testing process, providing real-time results to reduce the backlog in the legal system,” said Lamb in a statement.

    While well-intended, the bill perpetuates fears about fentanyl that many physicians consider unfounded, according to Reason. Coverage in the New York Times noted that while fentanyl and carfentanil are dangerous opioids, the drugs must be deliberately consumed, not touched or inhaled by accident, to present a health risk.

    “I would say it’s extraordinarily improbable that a first responder would be poisoned by an ultra-potent opioid,” said Dr. David Juurlink, a clinical researcher based in Toronto. “I don’t say it can’t happen. But for it to happen would require extraordinary circumstances, and those would be very hard to achieve.”

    Despite testimony of that nature, fear about exposure to fentanyl continues to find its way into the public sphere. The Toledo Blade called for immediate passage of Lamb’s bill, stating “police, firefighters and other first responders are in jeopardy if they come into contact with even a minute trace of the drug.”

    And in a February 2019 interview, John Anton, police chief for DeWitt, New York, said on WRVO Public Media that he feared his officers are “getting exposed to fentanyl, getting it on their clothes, bringing it home to their families, getting it on their boots and so on.”

    As many medical professionals have noted, such fears are largely unfounded.

    “I want to tell first responders, ‘Look, you’re safe,’” said Dr. Jeremy S. Faust, an emergency doctor at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, in the New York Times coverage. “You can touch these people. You can interact with them. You can go on and do the heroic lifesaving work that you do for anyone else.”

    View the original article at thefix.com