Beware Pink Fentanyl - New Pills are Even More Potent and Deadly Than the Fentanyl Previously Seen in Montana - Carbon County Not Immune
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich, Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan and Billings PD Chief Rich St. John provide updates
By Denise Rivette
Just as Carbon County law enforcement are seeing an uptick in encounters with persons in possession, and/or under the influence, of fentanyl, a new formulation is hitting the region. U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich and Billings Police Chief Rich St. John yesterday issued a warning to the public that law enforcement is beginning to see pink fentanyl pills in Billings. Noted for their pink color, the pills are more potent than the fentanyl that has previously been seen in the community. Because of the unreliability in potency and content, any of these illicitly produced synthetic opioids can result in overdose and death.
“Whenever a drug network is destabilizing and the product changes, it puts the people who use the drugs at the greatest risk,” he said. “That same bag or pill that they have been buying for the last several months now is coming from a different place, a different supplier, and is possibly a different potency.”
-Jarratt Pytell, an addiction medicine specialist and assistant professor at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine
https://www.406independent.com/p/fourth-wave-of-opioid-epidemic-crashes
“It has become far too common for us to see illicit fentanyl as a blue pill, but synthetic opioids can come in all forms and colors. We are now seeing pink fentanyl pills and they’re even more potent and deadly than the fentanyl pills we’ve previously seen in Montana. All of us must remain vigilant in the fight against fentanyl, as one pill can kill you. Please don’t take any pill that is not prescribed to you by a medical professional. Our office stands shoulder to shoulder with the Billings Police Department in the battle to save lives and to stop the widespread trafficking of this poison in our community,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
“The emergence of pink fentanyl presents a new and serious challenge for the law enforcement community,” Chief St. John said. “The increased potency has deadly results. Our officers, along with our law enforcement partners and supported by the USAO [U.S. Attorney’s Office], are working tirelessly to reduce the amount of these dangerous drugs in our community and hold offenders accountable,”
Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan reports that law enforcement encounters with fentanyl users and traffickers have increased in Carbon County over the past few months. In addition, officers are coming across more people who are intoxicated with two or more drugs. Meth and cocaine are being mixed in with fentanyl to provide a different high. Sometimes this is done by the user, but sometimes a user thinks they are buying one or the other and ends up with the mixture. This has been called the Fourth Wave of the Opioid Epidemic.
Another drug recently added to the mix is a veterinary tranquilizer widely used on horses called xylazine in a clinical setting and “tranq” on the streets. This new use is particularly dangerous because the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan) does not work on xylazine.
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According to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), after nearly a decade of decline Montana’s opioid overdose death rate almost tripled in 2019-2020, bringing the death rate back up to the former “peak” seen in 2009-2010. In Montana, although there was no change in intentional drug overdoses, unintentional drug overdoses increased by 39% in 2019-2020. That was during the “third wave”.
In 2017 the Montana State Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 333, the Help Save Lives from Overdose Act, with the stated purpose of saving “the lives of persons who have experienced an opioid-related drug overdose by providing the broadest possible access to life saving opioid antagonist medication.” The act directs DPHHS to increase the availability and distribution of naloxone (brand name Narcan) through a statewide standing order. Each year the governor issues a new order essentially giving every Montanan a standing prescription for naloxone and may receive free naloxone from the State of Montana via an authorized distributor.
There are currently no authorized distributors in Carbon County; however, Open Aid Alliance in Missoula will mail a box of your choice of intranasal (nasal spray) or intramuscular (injected with a needle into the muscle) Narcan to your home after watching a very brief instructional video and passing a four-question test. It comes packaged in a manila envelope with nothing on the outside to indicate the contents. You can order yours or get more information at: OpenAidAlliance.org/savealife.
Medical experts encourage people and businesses to carry naloxone. It is easy to administer and causes no known harm if administered to people who are not overdosing on opioids. Montana’s Good Samaritan Law provides legal protection to those who administer naloxone.
Maureen Ward, Injury Prevention Program Manager at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, believes every Montanan should have and know how to use naloxone. It not only saves the lives of those using illegal opioids, but also those who make a mistake with their prescribed opioids. She reminds us, “We all deserve a chance to live. For those suffering from a substance use disorder, surviving an overdose may mean an opportunity to enter treatment and recovery. A few minutes time and very little effort allows each of us to be prepared to save a life and give someone that chance.”