Fentanyl use is on the rise

The focus of MCAT over the last few years has been ridding the communities within the county of illegal and illicit drugs. They have named this focus, “Operation Clean Communities.”

Started in 2020 in response to a significant uptick in fentanyl overdoses in the Winslow area, the operation and a strike team began targeting drug dealers.

Swanty said, “Fentanyl use is up all over the country and all over the state and specifically, in Winslow.”

In fact, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS), there have been three fentanyl overdoses in Winslow in the last six months. That is compared to only one in Flagstaff. Show Low is also showing an increase in not only fentanyl usage but overdose as well, having experienced more than one in the last six months.

Swanty continued, “For years and years, methamphetamine was classified by HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) as the biggest threat to our state. This last year, after 20 years, it was replaced by fentanyl. That’s not just in Winslow; it is everywhere. It’s starting in the west out here and moving north and east. As a border state, we are going to have some of the first waves.”

Swanty said, “With such an uptick, we didn’t want to use traditional drug investigation methods where your kind of hiding in the dark snatching up the dopers. We wanted an overt in-your-face operation to send the message to all the drug dealers here that we were in town and coming after them. The purpose is to deter people from dealing drugs. We put our guys out there in their unmarked cars and their tactical gear to scare the dealers out of our communities, if you will.”

During the first year of the operation, he said, “Our five-man team made 30 physical arrests and seized a lot of drugs off the streets. We seized 429 fentanyl pills in 2020-21 which doesn’t seem like a lot. However, one pill has a 41% chance of having a lethal dose inside of it.”

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The prescription version of fentanyl, administered by medical professionals, is traditionally used to treat intense pain, such as is associated with cancer.

As Swanty explained, that is not the drug MCAT is fighting. “This is synthetic stuff and there is no way to know what dosage of the drug you might be getting at any given time. Fentanyl in Winslow has a street price of $30 per pill. You can buy the same pill in Phoenix for less than $1, sometimes less than 50 cents. The further north they go, the more expensive they get, so that’s a great business model, right?”

As is commonly understood, I-40 has always been a popular drug trafficking route. Swanty said, “To date, this calendar year, the Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force, which includes patrol, has seized just shy of one million fentanyl pills county-wide from street operations and highway interdiction. Some of those were destined for our county, some for other states. Last year, we took 209,000 for the calendar year so you can see what that increase is. In the last two years, we have had a 1,200% increase in seized fentanyl.”

AZDHS also highlighted the fact that the age group most affected by this epidemic is 25-34 years old. The CDC also said the fatal overdose rate related to fentanyl increased from 57,834 nationwide in 2020 to 71,238 in 2021. To compare, Arizona has already seen nearly 400 deaths from fentanyl in 2022.

The American Medical Association has also issued letters to the Joe Biden Administration encouraging the office to enact legislation that will increase the availability to services related to substance abuse.

In one letter, the AMA said, “We urge the administration to expand access to treatment for substance abuse disorders including medications and support for a broad range of harm reduction services including naloxone, sterile needles and drug checking supplies.”

Navajo County Public Health Community Liaison McKayla Keems said, “The county does offer Narcan (brand name for naloxone) kits and fentanyl test strips at no cost to community members and with no questions asked. We also provide resources for treatment programs and education on substance abuse.”

In fact, the county recently hosted a naloxone training session free of charge to the community in Winslow.

Naloxone or Narcan is a safe medication administered during a suspected overdose that can counteract the effects of opioids, including fentanyl.

The CDC says a person experiencing an opioid overdose often shows the following signs:

* Unconsciousness, or inability to wake up

* Limp body

* Falling asleep, extreme drowsiness

* Slow, shallow, irregular or no breathing

* Pale, blue, cold or clammy skin

* Choking, snoring or gurgling sounds

* Slow or no heart beat

* Very small or ‘pinpoint’ pupils

“Harm reduction,” Keems said, “is key to combating this epidemic.”

Swanty concluded, “It is here and as a parent, it scares the heck out of me. But this task force is doing all that they can, and we are very proud of them. If you’re slinging fentanyl in Winslow, we will find you. We will be knocking on your door. It is such a dangerous threat to our communities.”

For information on Narcan distribution or training, contact the Navajo County Public Health Department’s substance use coordinator Mallorie Ovah at (928) 524-4484.