Deadly fentanyl’s far-reaching effects

Law enforcement adapts to combat growing epidemic

The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has become more common around the country ... and it’s in the neighborhood – last weekend it killed one and hospitalized 14 others in Chico.

It’s been a concern for a while. Local undercover agents seized 18,000 pills in Yuba City last January they thought to be oxycodone; the pills instead tested positive for fentanyl. But since that large bust, the drug hasn’t seemed to cause a disturbance in Yuba-sutter, though officials are aware it could be on the horizon.

“Fentanyl is coming and it’s already been here,” a law enforcement official with the local drug task force NET-5 said Tuesday. (The Appeal-democrat agreed to not print the undercover agent’s name).

In 2016, the drug task force netted just 4 grams of heroin. In 2017, it seized over a pound. Though the more common form of opioids is pills (such as Norco or Codeine), usually prescribed by doctors to treat pain, users have also turned to cheaper, less refined versions like heroin.

NET-5 agents have been trained and carry Narcan, an opioid overdose-reversal, though they haven’t had to use it on anyone yet. With incidents like the mass overdose in Chico in mind, law enforcement are taking the drug seriously and working with federal agencies on busts like the

one in Yuba City last year, the NET5 agent said.

“It’s another drug and it’s demand and supply,” he said. “People are using it and people don’t know the seriousness of how potent this is compared to heroin.”

As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. It is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to Yuba County Public Health. It’s approved for treating severe pain, typically in advanced cancer, but recent overdoses are linked to illegally-made fentanyl, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include delayed reduced respiratory function, respiratory arrest, a rise of blood pressure within the brain, muscle rigidity and spasms, reduced level of consciousness and low blood pressure, according to the CDC.

Since last spring, Marysville patrol officers were equipped with small, green zip-up bags carrying at least two doses of Narcan nasal spray. Marysville Police Chief Christian Sachs said officers aren’t seeing as many illegal opioid pills