After toddler dies from fentanyl, Kansas City police warn of ‘rampant’ overdose problem
Fentanyl-related overdoses in Kansas City have significantly increased over the past two weeks, according to police. A toddler was among the most recent victims.
Officer Donna Drake, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department, said law enforcement has responded to four fentanyl overdose deaths, 17 nonfatal fentanyl overdoses and several other suspected fentanyl deaths.
“It’s unusual – in my opinion, and I think in the [Drug Enforcement Unit]’s opinion – to have this many overdose deaths in a short period of time,” Drake said. “I would use the word rampant.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
While fentanyl can be produced in many forms, Drake said police are seizing counterfeit pills most often, which include fake oxycodone, Xanax or Adderall pills laced with the deadly drug that can look identical to prescription pills. She cautioned the public not to take pills that aren’t prescribed to them.
Drake said fentanyl overdoses disproportionately affect Kansas Citians between the ages of 16 and 30.
“I would emphasize parents talking to their kids and having a conversation … You could potentially save your own child’s life by just saying, ‘Hey, this, this is dangerous. Please don’t be involved in this,’” she said.
Drake urged anyone struggling with an addiction to seek help by contacting one of the city’s many addiction treatment centers.
In September, Kansas City police made its largest seizure this year, 40,000 pills, and seized fentanyl in brick form on multiple occasions.
In March, the KCPD announced that accidental overdoses from fentanyl had climbed nearly 150% from 2019 to 2020 in the metro area, particularly among young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
Of the 129 overdoses reported last year in Kansas City, 50 were fentanyl-related, KCPD said previously.
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released earlier this year showed that fentanyl-related overdose deaths rose 350% from 2019 to 2021 among American teens.
In 2021, 77% of adolescent deaths caused by overdoses nationwide were traced back to fentanyl.
Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, is available to Missouri residents at several pharmacies. Per a state standing order, a prescription is not needed to purchase Narcan in Missouri.
Kansans can access Narcan without a prescription from pharmacists who have signed the state protocol to become official dispensers. A list of participating pharmacist locations can be found on the K-TRACS website.
The Star’s Anna Spoerre contributed to the reporting of this story.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 1:11 PM.