Fentanyl became the drug most commonly involved in fatal overdoses in Utah last year, based on data based on data provided by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. That’s two years after the synthetic opioid hit that mark nationally.
The 290 people who died in Utah last year after taking fentanyl represented a 71% increase in two years, and more than five times the number of such deaths recorded in 2019.
A new state task force held its first meeting earlier this month, as officials promised to fight fentanyl with a comprehensive approach from disrupting drug trafficking networks to reducing demand.
And earlier this week Gov. Spencer Cox announced that Utah would help President-elect Donald Trump deport undocumented immigrants who’ve committed crimes. Part of the governor’s five-step plan included working with the “newly created Fentanyl Taskforce on long-term solutions to criminals who have engaged in fentanyl distribution while illegally in the state.”
Here’s what you need to know about the crisis and what officials and advocates are doing to help prevent more overdose deaths:
Why is the fentanyl surge happening?
Illegally manufactured fentanyl — a prescription drug up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine — is fueling the drug’s use in Utah, officials say.
In the state’s illegal drug market, it’s often mixed with other drugs, made to look like the authentic pharmaceutical version, or even pressed to look like Flintstones vitamins.
Dustin Gillespie, the assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Salt Lake City District Office, said that’s because fentanyl is cheap to produce. Though law enforcement has been seizing a record number of fentanyl pills, there’s an “oversupply” of pills in Utah communities, Gillespie said.
And it could take just one pill to cause a fatal overdose, he said, as agency lab tests have shown that 70% of the pills contain a potentially lethal dose of two milligrams or more. One pill might have no fentanyl, Gillespie said, and another might have five times the potentially lethal dose.
How is Utah already trying to help people?
Groups in Utah have a history of working together, such as law enforcement’s focus on busting the supply chain while public health officials provide education and resources and harm reduction programs try to keep people out of danger.
“I wish we had a solution because we would have already done it,” said Jessica Serfustini, health promotion director for the Southeast Utah Health Department.
The department’s efforts in Emery, Carbon and Grand counties use evidence-based programs to help decrease the spread of disease and provide a safer route for drug use that’s going to happen either way, she said.
That includes education on the dangers of mixing drugs and how to use naloxone, an injectable emergency opioid overdose treatment, and Narcan, a nasal spray version.
The state and Utah Naloxone — founded by state Sen. Jen Plumb — have pushed out hundreds of thousands of doses of the injectable treatment.
Plumb, a physician, describes naloxone as a fire extinguisher — how we “keep people alive while they’re hopefully on their path to having better health or wellness.”
What else is needed?
Other safety efforts include test strips for fentanyl and xylazine — a non-opioid tranquilizer also being laced into illegal drugs — and syringe exchanges.
The exchange programs, which take in used syringes and offer new ones, are proven to lead to decreased rates of HIV and hepatitis C and less syringe litter, said MacKenzie Bray, executive director of The Salt Lake City Harm Reduction Project. The programs are “still kind of controversial,” she said, even though they work.
“People who access a syringe exchange are three times more likely to access treatment,” Bray said.
Some advocates would like to see more, like access to a safe supply and spaces to use safely, such as overdose prevention sites in Philadelphia and New York.
Though some of the additional resources may be unlikely to happen in Utah, the state has made a lot of progress, said Mindy Vincent, a licensed social worker who founded the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition.
The state has “just about as many support systems in place as we can at this point,” she said, though some could use expansion.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A man experiencing homelessness holds a pack of items at the Salt Lake Harm Reduction Project on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.
Lead with compassion, advocates urge
As the problem persists, empathy is key, said Max Radecky, who runs the syringe exchange program at Odyssey House’s Martindale Clinic. Drug misuse often stems from trauma, he said, so it’s critical to see those with substance use disorders as people first.
“I just want people to know that these are human beings,” Radecky said, “and they’re your neighbors and brothers and sisters.”
Vincent stressed that Utahns don’t need compassion for the behavior, but for the cause.
“The most successful strategy is starting at the individual level,” Radecky said, “and helping people to understand that substance use is a disease just like any other.”
Where to get help
Test strips are available from various health departments and community organizations. Find a location to get test strips at opidemic.utah.gov/fentanyl-test-strips/fentanyl-test-strips-distribution/.
Naloxone and Narcan are available at multiple locations statewide and through Utah Naloxone.
Substance use disorder treatment is available through official county providers and other mental and behavioral health providers.
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.
