Program outlines growing dangers of fentanyl use

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fentanyl continues to be a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S. and Douglas County. Recently, the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse and Prevention outlined the reality of fentanyl use among use to county o cials.

Leading the presentation, Lindsey Simbeye, the external relations strategist for the consortium, provided insight on how to talk to and educate youth about the growing crisis.

“ is epidemic and this crisis is not going anywhere,” said Simbeye. “ e best thing that we can do is learn as much as we can and share that knowledge with everyone that we can.” e nation is in its third wave since the opioid crisis began in the 1990s. ere was a rise in heroin overdose deaths in 2010, and 2013 marked the shift from illicit opioids to more synthetic opioids. According to Simbeye, a primary reason for the shift to fentanyl is it is easy to make.

Fentanyl is odorless, colorless and tasteless, making it easy to mix in other drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, LSD and other counterfeit pills.

An estimated 42% of all pills tested by the DEA contained at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which is considered to be a lethal dose. However, a lethal dose depends on the person’s body size, previous use and tolerance to the opioid.

Simbeye said these pills have a “chocolate chip cookie e ect”. Anyone who has made chocolate chip cookies would like to have a great morsel of chocolate in each bite, but most likely it is not the case. It is the same with pills, a singular pill might not have fentanyl in the entire pill.

When working with people in active use, Simbeye often has the drugs tested. Multiple areas of the pill are tested to know whether there is fentanyl in it.

“It also means that there could be enough fentanyl to kill 10 people in half of it and nothing in the other half of it,” said Simbeye.