Colorado law enforcement announced they have seized more illicit fentanyl, the synthetic opioid driving overdose deaths in the U.S., in the first five months of 2022 than they did in all of 2021.
Illegally made and distributed fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are linked to a 16 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2018 to 2019. Latest provisional drug overdose death counts through May 2020 suggest that overdose deaths accelerated further during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC.
Law enforcement officials presented data from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area showing that more than 2 million dosage units of illicit fentanyl were seized from Colorado communities this year.
"While I would love to tell you that our troopers have eliminated the threat of this deadly drug, what we remove is a drop in the ocean. It's cheap, it's everywhere, including a strong counterfeit market where people think they are taking other forms of pills. If you have a loved one struggling with any form of drug abuse, get them help," Matthew Packard, chief of Colorado State Patrol, said at a June 1 press conference.
Keith Weis, executive director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, indicated that the user market for illicit fentanyl in Colorado is expanding.
Colorado law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado plan to collaborate at the first Colorado Fentanyl Summit on June 2-3, a high-intensity training program for law enforcement about fentanyl enforcement.