Lawmakers Work To Stop Carfentanil From Entering Country

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – New figures show a dramatic jump in opioid deaths in the Twin Cities.

At the same time, federal lawmakers are pushing for new measures to keep an especially lethal form of opioid from coming into the country.

The new figures released by a prominent Twin Cities Drug abuse consultant said opioid related overdose deaths in Hennepin County alone rose 57 percent from 97 deaths in 2015 to 153 deaths in 2016.

As bad as that is, authorities are warning it could get worse because of a small but growing number of deaths in Minnesota from carfentanil. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, the opioid that killed Prince

The gravity of the situation was highlighted at a news conference Monday featuring Sen. Amy Klobuchar, as well as top local and state medical and law enforcement officials.

They outlined a series of measures to reign in the growing crisis.

Sen. Klobuchar toured the emergency department at St. Paul's United Hospital, a hospital, like so many in the Twin Cities, that has been inundated with opioid overdoses.

Klobuchar has a bill aimed at the latest threat, a bill that would close a loophole that allows a synthetic opioid called carfentanil to enter the country via the United States post office.

The tiny amount of carfentanil next to a penny is enough to sedate an elephant, a microscopic amount can kill humans and is already being blamed for five deaths in Minnesota this year.

For more information about Amy Klobuchar's bill, visit the Steve Rummler Hope For Foundation online.