In just the first five months of 2022, Kentucky State Police responded to nearly 340 overdose calls, many of those involving fentanyl. That’s the most recent information available from the KSP. In 2021, the CDC estimates 107,000 overdoses nationwide with 70% of those connected to fentanyl.
Van Ingram is Executive Director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. Ingram said fentanyl has become more prevalent since the drug began to appear in the Commonwealth in 2016 and 2017.
“It certainly has exponentially increased every year. No one can predict what the next threat will be. But synthetic opioids like fentanyl and fentanyl analogs will be around for some time. It seems to be a business model that the drug cartels prefer,” said Ingram.
Earlier this month, the DEA recognized the first ever Fentanyl Awareness Day. There are resources for those struggling with substance use disorder. For information on treatment centers, people can call 8338-KY-HELP or go online to findhelpnowky.org.
Ingram had this advice for people who do decide to use illicit drugs. “Go slow and start low. Start with a small amount of any substance that they're taking. And do that in a cautious manner. And like I say, please don't use alone,” said Ingram.
Kentucky State Police reported fentanyl is found in nearly 100% of the heroin they pull off the streets. Ingram said its also found in methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as pressed into pills meant to look like the medications Percocet and Xanax.
“People that think they're taking a pharmaceutical pill they bought off the street are actually, the active ingredient is fentanyl. So yes, it's extremely prevalent. But think about it a minute, you know, it's 10 times more powerful than heroin,” said Ingram.
KSP data indicates, in many cases, illicit drugs are now significantly cheaper than they were before the pandemic and more and more of them are being mixed with fentanyl.
