DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) — The fight against opioids continues. Tuesday is National Fentanyl Awareness Day where the DEA, community organizations, law enforcement and public health departments recognize the harmful drug.
Fentanyl is the greatest drug threat in the US, as drug related overdoses remain the leading cause of deaths for those aged 18 through 44, but it affects anyone of any age.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is about 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just two milligrams, which is like a few grains of salt, is a potentially lethal dose. The DEA often sees fentanyl in fake pills made to look like common prescription medications like Percocet, Xanax and Vicodin.
“Today is pretty special for people who have lost loved ones to fentanyl, whether they knew it was in their supply or not,” Deborah Krauss, Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition Executive Director, said. “I think one of the big things that I would love people to know and the community to know is that there’s ways to use safer and there’s ways to keep ourselves and our friends safer. One of those is the fentanyl test strips. You can get those for free from us or I know there’s maybe a couple other organizations that hand them out. But even like the Narcan, we have boxes all over central Iowa. At this point, they’re free. You can just go grab a Narcan and have it on your person.”
For those who have lost a love one, getting involved has helped them. Like Ankeny’s Melissa Burke who lost her sister Marissa Gunderson in December and now has joined Become Their Voice, a nonprofit that brings awareness to mental health and the growing drug crisis.
“Hey, I’m looking for a way to honor my sister. I want people to know she was a person. She was a sister, a daughter and a mother that unfortunately had a lot of mental health and a lot of trauma that was built up behind that,” Burke said. “I want to educate others. That’s my biggest thing right now. There’s a bigger piece that’s below addiction, not feeling like you’re embarrassed to talk about it. Because I feel like still in society, it’s a very taboo thing.”
The CDC predicts an 8% decline in drug overdose deaths year-over-year in Iowa, while nationally there’s a 26.5% decline predicted. Still, 105,000 Americans died from drug poisoning in 2023, with 70% of those deaths attributed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“This is reality. It is an epidemic in this country, and we’re losing a lot of lives every day to this,” Burke said. “The more education, the more people are outspoken, the more love that we have for each other and the more help we can get to those that need it will make a big difference.”
“Fentanyl is in every class structure, every socioeconomic status, like it doesn’t matter who you are, if you are using some substances, like you run the risk of ingesting fentanyl and you have to understand that. It’s nondiscriminatory,” Krauss said. “All of these deaths were 100% preventable with the right education and tools.”
For more information or resources visit Become Their Voice’s website or the Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition’s website.
Another resource is the new Polk County Health Department vending machine, which has Narcan for free as well.