EDITORIAL: Alaska hurting from fentanyl
A recent story spoke to the alarming statics regarding Alaska drug overdoses, especially related to fentanyl.
Such opioids killed a record number of Alaskans in 2023 as Alaska’s percentage of drug overdoses increased by 40% — the largest increase of any state for ’23.
Alaska had 123 drug overdose deaths in 2014, 105 in 1018 and 342 in 2023.
To say that Alaska is under attack is an understatement.
But that is how U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan sees it. He has started a statewide fentanyl awareness campaign called “One Pill Can Kill.”
And one will.
Sullivan’s website offers a toolkit designed to help Alaskans fight fentanyl’s abuse.
“This campaign will examine where fentanyl is coming from, where and how it is being sold, the dangers of the drug, how it impacts our Alaska communities, and the resources that are available for treatment, prevention, and reporting criminal activity,” states Sullivan’s site.
Access to the campaign, which is for all Alaskans who wish to join, is available through that site.
The information on the site includes, but is not limited to:
• Fentanyl is the deadliest drug ever for Alaska.
• It is being marketed on social media.
• Drug cartels make fentanyl to appear as if it is candy, Xanax and other pharmaceuticals.
• Six out of every 10 fake pills with fentanyl contain a lethal dose.
We share this information because it is valuable. Every Alaskan in one way or another is affected by fentanyl and other drug-related deaths; every community suffers the effects.
We also chose this topic because it is Red Ribbon Week, a week specifically designated for awareness of illegal drugs and their deadly potential, and Ketchikan has observed it for decades.
Annually, the week pays tribute to a U.S. drug enforcement officer who lost his life in Mexico while fighting illegal drug traffickers.
After the death of Special Agent Enrique Camarena, a California congressman launched Camarena clubs in Camarena’s hometown of Calexico, Calif. Hundreds of club members wore red ribbons and pledged to be drug-free. It led to a nationwide effort to educate youth in particular about the devastating result of drug abuse.
The clubs led to the annual Red Ribbon Week, which begins Oct. 23 — today.
We encourage readers here to look at Sullivan’s website and gather information helpful to reducing the effects of fentanyl and other illegally distributed drugs. Then share the information, especially with children, regardless of whether they are “good” kids or kids already living in a drug environment. Fentanyl makes no distinction.
This is a fight that is won one kid at a time. One individual. Then another, as Alaska strives — and it should actively — to become the state with the lowest number of drug-overdose deaths.
Alaska doesn’t want to be at the top of this list.
By: Editorial Board
Source: Ketchikan Daily News
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