Deadly fentanyl’s far-reaching effects | News

“Fentanyl is coming and it’s already been here,” a law enforcement official with the local drug task force NET-5 said Tuesday. (The Appeal-Democrat agreed to not print the undercover agent’s name).

In 2016, the drug task force netted just 4 grams of heroin. In 2017, it seized over a pound. Though the more common form of opioids is pills (such as Norco or Codeine), usually prescribed by doctors to treat pain, users have also turned to cheaper, less refined versions like heroin. 

NET-5 agents have been trained and carry Narcan, an opioid overdose-reversal, though they haven’t had to use it on anyone yet. With incidents like the mass overdose in Chico in mind, law enforcement are taking the drug seriously and working with federal agencies on busts like the one in Yuba City last year, the NET-5 agent said. 

“It’s another drug and it’s demand and supply,” he said. “People are using it and people don’t know the seriousness of how potent this is compared to heroin.”

As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. It is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to Yuba County Public Health. It’s approved for treating severe pain, typically in advanced cancer, but recent overdoses are linked to illegally-made fentanyl, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include delayed reduced respiratory function, respiratory arrest, a rise of blood pressure within the brain, muscle rigidity and spasms, reduced level of consciousness and low blood pressure, according to the CDC.

Since last spring, Marysville patrol officers were equipped with small, green zip-up bags carrying at least two doses of Narcan nasal spray. Marysville Police Chief Christian Sachs said officers aren’t seeing as many illegal opioid pills on the street, but they are seeing more heroin in the area. One of the few times an officer has had to use Narcan on an opioid overdose in Marysville was just last week.

But the potent drug poses serious risks not only for the user, but for emergency responders coming into contact with the drug, as well. At the mass overdose in Chico last weekend, two police officers were treated at the hospital after feeling the effects of fentanyl.

“The concerns are it becoming an issue, for the fact you’re seeing more and more cases coming forward like in Butte County,” Sachs said. “If it does become an issue, we’re preparing and training our officers … If it’s out there and officers are coming into contact, we want to provide them with tools to be able to apply it to one another.”

NET-5 has worked with federal agencies, like the Drug Enforcement Agency, on large busts like the one in Yuba City last year in hopes of preventing further spread of the drug into the area.

“Agencies are taking it very seriously and have redirected their agents to fight the battle with opioid issues,” the NET-5 agent said. “It’s a very dangerous drug.”