By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
Fentanyl is the number one cause of death in persons aged 18-45 in the United States of America. In the U.S., an estimated 107,000 individuals died from a drug overdose in the 12 months from January 2021 to 2022, and two-thirds of those deaths were fentanyl-related.
Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R) facilitated a roundtable discussion on October 24 at the Adams County Health Department about Fentanyl. He stated, “It’s cancer in the United States of America.”
In an October 7 press release, Wenstrup relayed, “Current policies to counter the proliferation of illicit Fentanyl have proven woefully inadequate to protect the nation. As a physician, a lawmaker, and a soldier, I believe it is time we declare illicit Fentanyl what it is: a weapon of mass destruction that is destroying the lives of our young people and killing Americans across the country in record numbers. As a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus and the House Intelligence Committee, I have personally been to the border and spoken with Federal agents about the difficulty they face combatting cartels who traffic human beings and drugs through our porous border. Along parts of the southern border, Federal agents have reported a 4,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures over the last three years. The illicit Fentanyl they’re unable to catch makes its way into every community across America, killing our family and friends. We need to stop illicit Fentanyl at the border and work backward from there by working with Mexico to shut down trafficking and transport and stopping China’s role in the manufacture and production of chemical precursors used to make this deadly, illicit drug.”
Wenstrup discussed the Stop the Scourge Act of 2022, telling Adams County agency representatives and parents of victims of Fentanyl poisoning, “Let me be a sounding board.” He explained the forum, “It allows me to tell your stories – what’s working and what’s not when I go back to Washington. What is going on here can be extremely helpful to other counties in the district and across the state of Ohio. We can give a positive message as to some of the things that work with a very severe problem and bring that back to Washington DC so that others may learn from that.”
The Congressman discussed the bust in New York a couple of weeks ago that found Fentanyl in what looked like candy and other pill forms that looked like medication. Wenstrup said, “We’re talking about illicit Fentanyl that’s coming across in doses that are very deadly, deceiving people. Customs and Border Protection saw 12,900 pounds of illicit Fentanyl in the last fiscal year – enough to kill 2.9 billion people.”
Dr. Hablitzel Commissioner of the Adams County Health Department said of Fentanyl, “It’s one more step on a very long walk that we’ve been on for some time.” Hablitzel shared that the Adams County community began tackling these problems in 2017. He shared information obtained through health assessments that showed that most Adams Countians realized that drug abuse and mental health were our number one and two issues for concern. Hablitzel shared, “In the past five years, we’ve developed a Division of Behavioral Health. We are in the trenches for both substance abuse and mental health.”
Two people in the trenches are Tara England and Brandon Perry, who are Peer Supporters and work for the Health Department. England and Perry are transparent in sharing their past with addiction and contributors to their success and sobriety. Both are people of faith and emphasize the importance of community. Perry said, “Community support is the answer.”
The round table discussion included representatives from the Health Department, Ohio Means Jobs, Probation, Common Pleas Court, Sheriff’s Department, and parents. Mothers Tonya Aber (Founder of 4 Them We Fight) and Marla Ayers (Founder of Lock Memorial Project), who lost their daughters to fentanyl poisoning, addressed the group.
Aber noted, “An overdose is something you know you’re taking, and a lot of the people dying today do not know that they’re getting it – that makes it a homicide.” Wenstrup agreed. She showed a poster of teenagers who died from fentanyl poisoning, clarifying these were not addicts but “One pill – one kill.” Aber stated, “They made one bad choice, and they died.” Ayers and Aber are putting their children and others who have died on billboards for folks to see, and they are frustrated that they must fund the awareness effort. Aber said, “We’re paying to advertise our dead kids to save other people’s kids. I think that’s wrong.”
Ayers recently held the first Locks Memorial in Manchester, Ohio. Folks sent locks from over the United States to place on a portion of the fence on the Ohio River. Ayers and Aber want to teach people. Ayers visits schools to educate children and adults about fentanyl poisoning. Aber said folks are obtaining drugs by utilizing Snapchat. Ayers piggybacked, “They don’t even have to use words – they use emojis. It’s very scary.” Aber said, “They are wiping out a whole generation, and it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Judge Brett Spencer asked the moms’ view on using Fentanyl Test Strips. Spencer stated, “Our concern was the dealer would use it to show the pureness of the product they were trying to sell.” Aber and Ayers said in unison, “They are not safe.” Ayers said, “I have heard of kids splitting pills; one will go down, and one will not.”
Aber is organizing a group of moms to visit the border. Congressman Wenstrup offered his support. He stated that he thinks Fentanyl is a more significant health emergency than COVID, saying, “It should be the number one issue coming out of the White House, in my opinion.” Aber is also working with a group called Facing Fentanyl. She is organizing an event on November 5 where individuals will come together on each side of the bridge across Cincinnati and Kentucky and meet in the middle. There will be banners on display to memorialize the deceased. She stated, “We want our politicians that we’ve elected to stand with us and look at our kids and call their names out – that’s what we want.”
The question is, “How do we get folks to listen?” Danielle Poe, Director of Behavioral Health for the Adams County Health Department, said, “America has a pretty good track record with prevention. The bill that you are proposing is prevention. Access is a piece of prevention. So, one of the first things we can do in America is – stop access.” She brought up past successful campaigns that brought awareness and change, like getting folks to stop smoking or to wear seatbelts. She, too, concentrated on the work folks do together. Chelsea Blevins, Chief Probation Officer, echoed the “no more silos” message.
Upon hearing Perry’s testimony and the strong message he and England shared about community, Congressman Wenstrup looked at them and said, “It’s very convincing when someone like you says you can do this – it can be done.”