KANSAS CITY —The fentanyl crisis is getting worse. The Kansas City Police Department responded to four confirmed fentanyl overdose deaths, including a toddler, in a 13-day timespan during the month of October, according to a release from the agency.
In addition, the department has investigated several other suspected fentanyl deaths and 17 nonfatal overdoses in recent days.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug that is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. It is cheap and highly addictive, leading drug dealers to mix it into counterfeit pills of oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall.
In September, KCPD’s Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) seized four large amounts of fentanyl: a 3,300 pill seizure, an 11,000 pill seizure, a 3,100 pill seizure, and a two-kilogram seizure. The department’s largest seizure this year, to-date, is 41,000 pills. On multiple occasions, the Department's Drug Enforcement Unit has seized fentanyl in brick/kilogram form.
Drug dealers also mix fentanyl with other drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, with many users unaware they are taking fentanyl.
The Department urged the public, "Please talk with your family and friends; they should never take a medication that was not prescribed to them."
"If you know anyone who abuses illicit drugs and opioids, please encourage them to get help with their addiction. Additionally, many groups we work with suggest having Narcan on hand and utilizing fentanyl test kits to determine the presence of fentanyl."
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