Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, continues to pose a health threat to our nation.
In a public service announcement, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is asking Kansans to be smart and protect themselves.
“Do not take any pill that you didn’t receive from a doctor or pharmacist,” Kobach warns.
More than 1,200 Kansans have already died from suspected fentanyl overdoses, and the problem is getting worse. Recently, Lawrence police responded to three fentanyl overdoses in one night. One person died and the others were hospitalized. Barton County has also seen people hospitalized due to drug overdoses.
Accidental exposures to fentanyl patches are also a problem. The Food and Drug Administration reports young children, in particular, have died or become seriously ill after being exposed to a skin patch containing fentanyl.
Health agencies explain there are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF). IMF is often added to other drugs, especially opioids, because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more potent, more addictive and more dangerous.
To reduce risk, health agencies recommend the following strategies to prevent accidental overdose:
• Unless a pharmacist directly hands you a prescription pill, assume it is counterfeit and contains fentanyl.
• Assume any pills obtained from social media, the internet, or a friend are counterfeit and contain fentanyl.
• If you are using pills, don’t use alone and always have naloxone (brand name Narcan) on hand.
• Test your drugs with fentanyl test strips. Fentanyl test strips can often be accessed at local harm reduction sites. Ask your harm reduction providers how to effectively use a test strip.
It was only this year that the Kansas Legislature passed and Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill that decriminalized fentanyl test strips and removed the legal barrier that kept many stores and pharmacies from selling them to the public. In 2017, Kansas lawmakers made naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an accidental opioid overdose, available without a prescription.
The passage of the 2023 legislation is good but there is more Kansas can do. Our state can legalize syringe exchange programs and adopt a Good Samaritan Law (GSL) that protects bystanders who call for help for someone experiencing an overdose.
Good Samaritan drug overdose laws provide immunity from arrest, charge or prosecution for drug possession or paraphernalia when individuals who are experiencing or witnessing an overdose summon emergency services. The potential benefit is a reduction in overdose deaths. Kansas, Texas and Wyoming do not have GSLs for overdose.
Kansas did pass a Good Samaritan law in 2018 that allows individuals to do something to rescue a child or pet locked in a hot car. At the time, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay commented, “It’s about being reasonable under the circumstances.”
Surely we can do as much for human beings.
