Arkansas
Arkansas grapples with fentanyl crisis
Ray Donovan, chief of operations of the Drug Enforcement Administration , stands in entrance of “The Faces of Fentanyl” wall, which shows pictures of People who died of a fentanyl overdose, on the DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on July 13, 2022. Photograph: Agnes BUN / AFP
Drug overdoses are surging in Northwest Arkansas — in keeping with a nationwide pattern tied to the rise of fentanyl.
Why it issues: Fentanyl overdoses are the No. 1 reason for demise in folks ages 18-49 nationwide, based on an evaluation by The Washington Submit. Two-thirds of overdose deaths in 2021 concerned the painkiller.
Zoom in: The variety of deadly drug overdoses in Benton and Washington counties almost doubled the previous three years — from 42 in 2020 to 74 in 2022, based on information from the county coroners.
- Overdose deaths involving fentanyl greater than quadrupled in Washington County, from 4 in 2020 to 17 in 2022. The drug was a consider about half the county’s deadly overdoses final yr.
Between the traces: NWA emergency responders are more and more utilizing naloxone to reverse overdoses. The Rogers Fireplace Division administered the antidote 136 occasions in 2022, in comparison with 96 two years earlier, metropolis Emergency Medical Providers Program Supervisor Nick Mason instructed Axios.
Flashback: In 2021, the Arkansas State Crime Lab carried out autopsies on 496 drug overdose deaths, in comparison with 207 in 2016. About 59% of the 2021 deaths concerned fentanyl — up from 4% in 2016, based on a lately filed invoice.
The massive image: The sheer quantity of fentanyl displaying up within the U.S., mixed with an absence of complete, real-time overdose information, has overwhelmed the U.S. authorities.
- John Walters, who served as drug czar in the course of the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, instructed The Washington Submit it is “like monitoring the epidemic by visiting cemeteries.”
- Within the meantime, officers have resorted to consciousness campaigns speaking in regards to the drug’s efficiency and responders’ elevated use of naloxone.
- Fentanyl is an artificial drug that is 50 occasions stronger than heroin and is usually laced in different medication.
How legislators are addressing the difficulty
The Arkansas legislative session is in full swing. Listed below are the fentanyl-related measures proposed to this point:
SB283 and HB1456 would make delivering fentanyl “demise by supply” if an individual dies from taking the drug, carrying a minimal sentence of 20 years and a most of 60 years.
- Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Lawyer Common Tim Griffin introduced the invoice in mid-February.
- Sanders appointed Tom Fisher, a former overdose response technique analyst for the Gulf Coast Excessive Depth Drug Trafficking Space, which covers Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, because the state’s new “drug czar.”
- The state Home Judiciary Committee will hear the invoice at 10am Thursday.
SB40 would legalize fentanyl take a look at strips. State Sen. Justin Boyd (R-Fort Smith), the invoice’s sponsor, instructed Axios that Arkansas prosecutors are already selecting to not convey motion towards folks for possessing the strips — thought of drug paraphernalia below present state regulation. The strips might stop overdoses as a result of folks might know whether or not one other substance comprises fentanyl.
- The measure is deferred, with the expectation it is going to be included in an upcoming public security invoice, Boyd stated.