DANVILLE, Va. – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, America’s drug epidemic is the deadliest it has ever been.
More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States during the 12-month period ending April 2021. That’s a new record high, with overdose deaths jumping 28.5% from the same period a year earlier.
The Commonwealth follows similar trends, and there’s one opioid that’s playing a driving role, according to law enforcement: Fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is so deadly. It’s one of the most dangerous things we have running around,” Danville Police’s Captain of Investigations David Whitley said. “I’d argue it’s more dangerous than a firearm.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than morphine. It was made as a pain killer for surgery.
However, it’s now adding to the ongoing drug epidemic.
In the last three years, Danville Police said opioids killed at least 16 people in the city, and from 2019 to 2020, reported overdoses went up about 400%.
“I’ve sat and talked with addicts. I’ve had the conversation. If you don’t change your life, this is going to catch you,” Whitley said. “I can think of one instance in particular, three weeks later she was dead.”
Authorities in several Virginia cities and counties said overdoses and deaths are on the rise, but determining an exact amount of increases in these cases can be difficult.
“Within the past year to six months it has really, we’re seeing it a lot,” Bedford County’s Major Jon Wilks said. “We’re actually seeing it mixed in with marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs we’re seizing.”
Major Wilks said there’s no way to know if a drug contains fentanyl – Meaning that buyers don’t realize the risk they’re taking.
“If you get any kind of what looks like a real prescription medication, it’s almost certainly counterfeit,” Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines Shabbir Safdar said. “It probably contains dangerous ingredients like methamphetamine or fentanyl.”
Safdar said traffickers are even mixing the drugs with pills mimicking Adderall, Tylenol, and Aspirin. An alarming amount is being bought by teens and young adults online.
Experts said to check your child’s browser history by looking for websites, sometimes disguised as Canadian pharmacies, promising cheap pills to save money.
“The conversation you have with your kids is please understand there are deadly pills around and that’s a real risk I can’t help fix for you,” Safdar said.
Authorities said there are two reasons we’re seeing more of the dangerous drug.
“Drug dealers, like anything, they’re going to sell the most drugs and they’re going to sell the best drugs,” Wilks said. “There’s not a lot of border control right now. The smugglers and those bringing it over, it’s easier for them to do that than it used to be.”
Law enforcement wants to stop the problem before it gets worse, so Danville Police created the C.O.R.E. Program, which stands for ”Community Opioid Response and Engagement.”
Danville Police use an investigative model to identify those suffering from addiction so they can find those trafficking the drug and those who do both.
“Our endgame is to go after the people who are trafficking it, the people who are bringing it in. The people who are suffering from addiction, it’s a mental health issue,” Whitley said. “But we need the reporting aspect of that so that we can start going down the trail of figuring out who the suppliers are.”
Danville Police are partnering with mental health services to help and last year, the department saw an 18% decrease in reported overdoses and a 33% decrease in opioid-related deaths.
Authorities are asking people to stay alert and never buy from a non-medical source and they might not know what they’re actually getting.