'The days of experimentation are gone': Police chief in northern Colorado warns of surge in fentanyl overdoses
Methamphetamine and fentanyl overdoses and deaths continue to surge, according to new data from Colorado's Department of Public Health and Environment.
Data from CDPHE shows overdose deaths have nearly doubled in recent years, something several government and law enforcement officials have linked back to the emergence of fentanyl.
Fort Collins Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said he has watched his agency increasingly combat what he calls an "addiction crisis."
"We are coming across fentanyl every day," Swoboda told CBS News Colorado.
Fort Collins and Larimer County are not unique in this crisis. The entire country has seen arrests and overdoses connected to fentanyl dramatically spike in the past four years.
"Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me. It saddens me," Swoboda said. "In the past few years, I have seen it skyrocket."
As CBS News Colorado requested an interview with Fort Collins Police on the topic of fentanyl use in the region, Swoboda was actively assisting the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force on an arrest warrant involving fentanyl, which was later announced publicly.
Charlotte Haywood was arrested on several charges including unlawful distribution of fentanyl. In a release, the task force said that Haywood also was in possession of two handguns and thousands of dollars in cash.
Swoboda said local agencies are working hard to keep up with the continuous flow of narcotics, specifically fentanyl, flowing into Colorado. However, he said it is difficult to combat the crisis at a local level as the pills are coming across the U.S.-Mexico border at a more rapid rate than they are being seized.
Swoboda encouraged parents to speak with their children as early as they feel comfortable. He said many children and young adults may want to experiment with narcotics but should be warned that doing so is more dangerous than it was decades ago.
"The days of experimentation are gone," Swoboda said. "The very first time could be someone's death sentence, it is that serious."
Swoboda said parents should tell their children to never take any pills or drugs that were not directly prescribed or purchased from a store over the counter to avoid overdosing from fentanyl.
Swoboda said he has seen studies that suggest an average of roughly 300 Americans die every day from fentanyl overdoses.
"If that was a plane crash every day, which 300 is about a plane crash, we would be doing much more than we are doing right now," Swoboda said.
