Gov. Kim Reynolds hosted a press conference yesterday (Tuesday) with state health and safety officials warning Iowans about the growing risks posed by the spread of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced counterfeit drugs. According to the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the agency analyzed just over 17,000 fentanyl pills disguised as prescription drugs in 2021. That number quadrupled in just the first six months of 2022 to more than 70,500. Reynolds says, “While the rapid increase of drug overdoses and deaths since 2020 is largely attributed to the pandemic, the surge of illegal drug trafficking at our nation’s southern border under the Biden administration is undeniably fueling the fentanyl crisis and its resulting overdose epidemic.” The prevalence of counterfeit drugs containing the potent opioid is also growing, frequently being sold online and through social media. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly, and up to 40 percent of fentanyl-laced drugs contain a potentially lethal amount. Fortunately, Iowa has one of the lowest drug overdose death rates in the nation, ranking 46th last year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but state health officials note drug overdose deaths spiked to 470 in 2021 from 350 in 2019. In 2016, Iowa implemented a law allowing pharmacies to distribute Naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug, without a prescription, which has likely prevented hundreds of additional opioid deaths in the six years since. For more information on the dangers of fentanyl, visit www.YourLifeIowa.org or www.naloxoneiowa.org.
