Community reminded that fentanyl kills

As the world continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis of another kind poses a threat to Americans. Fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs are putting people at risk of overdose, and Centennial Mental Health Center and Phillips County commissioners continue to work together to reduce the danger to northeast Colorado communities.

Centennial Mental Health has seen an increase of fentanyl in northeast Colorado communities and is continuing to make an effort to stop overdoses through their prevention work as well as through their substance use disorder treatment teams. Both treatment and case management staff members are working diligently to educate their clients about the impact of fentanyl and the high risk of overdose when it is involved.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Developed for pain management treatment, fentanyl has powerful effects that have led to it being abused.

Fentanyl can be added to other drugs like heroin to increase its potency, or it can be disguised as potent heroin itself. Overdose deaths can occur when a buyer doesn’t know that what they’re purchasing is fentanyl itself or another drug with fentanyl added, and a counterfeit fentanyl-laced pill can kill a person the first time they take it.

Commissioners said they want to help educate Phillips County citizens on the risks of prescription and nonprescription opioids, and they have been working with Phillips County Sheriff’s Office to educate themselves on the dangers of the drugs in the county.

Centennial Mental Health also partners with the statewide prevention organization Rise Above, which is training the Centennial Mental Health team in a program called “Closing the Gap,” which helps youth align their assumptions with the reality around substance use among teens.  

The 18-year opioid settlement for Colorado is scheduled to start early this summer. For the settlement, Phillips County is in Region 4, which also consists of Sedgwick, Yuma, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Elbert, Morgan, Logan and Washington counties.

Phillips County Commissioner Terry Hofmeister is one of the five commissioners appointed to the board of Region 4. They are still in the process of setting up and signing the intergovernmental agreement and bylaws with the 10 northeast Colorado counties and municipalities.

One of their goals is to set up at least one facility in Region 4 to help with opioid education, rehabilitation and treatment, and this will be done working with local law enforcement, and mental health and medical providers.

“I have such a passion for mental health,” Hofmeister said. “We’ve got to get this done right. It’s something that we desperately need.”

Additionally, the Centennial substance use disorder treatment program includes assessment, treatment and recovery support for individuals with a variety of substance use challenges, including street drugs that may include fentanyl.

For further information, the Centennial prevention team can be reached at 970-522-4549, and the Centennial Mental Health office in Holyoke can be reached at 970-854-2114.

In a December press release, the Drug Enforcement Administration revealed that criminal drug networks are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with fentanyl and fake prescription pills into American homes with one click on a smartphone.

These fake prescription pills are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions — such as Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Adderall®, Xanax® and other medicines — and have been found in every state in the country.

In September, the DEA issued its first public safety alert in six years to warn the public about the alarming increase in the availability and lethality of fake prescription pills in the U.S. These fake prescription pills often contain deadly doses of fentanyl. The DEA has determined that four out of 10 DEA-tested fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contain at least 2 milligrams of fentanyl — an amount that is considered to be a lethal dose.

Last year alone, the DEA seized enough fentanyl to provide a lethal dose to every American. In 2021, the DEA seized 20.4 million fake prescription pills.

The DEA launched the One Pill Can Kill campaign to inform the American public of the dangers of fake prescription pills. The only safe prescription medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional that are received from a licensed pharmacist. All other pills are unsafe and potentially deadly. For more information, visit dea.gov/onepill.

In Colorado, according to a Jan. 5 press release, Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced $1.8 million has been allocated to the state’s Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund.

This money, made available through the American Rescue Plan Act, allows eligible entities such as harm reduction organizations, local law enforcement agencies and local governments to access the funds needed to purchase naloxone at no cost to the agency.

Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose and is a critical overdose prevention tool. Naloxone can keep an individual who has overdosed stable, which provides crucial time for emergency medical professionals to provide required care.

These additional resources come as the demand for naloxone exceeds funding currently available to the Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund, and the monthly demand continues to increase. From January 2019 to December 2021, CDPHE provided 98,314 doses of naloxone at no cost to 253 eligible entities across the state. The Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund is increasing public safety by getting naloxone into the hands of people living and working with those at the highest risk for an overdose.

CDPHE’s Overdose Prevention Unit administers the fund. More information about overdose prevention and the program is available at https://cdphe.colorado.gov/overdose-prevention.