Kansas City Hires Overdose Investigators to Combat Fentanyl-Related Deaths

Evidence bags containing fentanyl are displayed during a news conference at Surrey RCMP Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C, on Sept. 3, 2020. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

Kansas City will be hiring two new overdose investigators as part of an ordinance passed by the city council on Thursday, aiming to help combat the fentanyl death epidemic in the city of Missouri.

The ordinance, proposed by Mayor Quinton Lucas, would enable the city health department to employ two investigators for fentanyl tracing and require fentanyl overdoses to be reported within 24 hours.

The new ordinance also calls for the creation of a review board tasked with reviewing real-time data on overdoses to get a better handle on the issue and figure out ways to help.

Mr. Lucas said the number of overdose deaths in Kansas City surpassed homicides in 2021 and that there was only one day in 2022 without a suspected overdose in city emergency rooms.

“Overdose deaths are at epidemic levels in Kansas City. Between 2017 [and] 2021, there was a nearly 1000 percent increase in synthetic opioid deaths,” the mayor stated on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Nov. 10.

Mr. Lucas also said that Kansas City will be launching a public education campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl in order to prevent fatal overdoses in the city.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the state recorded over 600 drug-related overdose deaths in 2021, with half of these deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

Bags containing approximately 58,000 fentanyl pills were seized in Multnomah County, Oregon, on July 25, 2023. Courtesy of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, which is a significant contributor to drug overdoses in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated.

Due to its potency, even small amounts of the drug can cause an overdose. More than 150 Americans die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to CDC data.

Meanwhile, San Francisco is also establishing a new task force to investigate opioid-linked deaths and poisonings in the city.

“Fentanyl is deadlier than any drug we’ve ever seen on our streets,” San Francisco mayor London Breed said in a press release on Oct. 27.

“We must treat the trafficking and sale of fentanyl more severely and people must be put on notice that pushing this drug could lead to homicide charges,” she added.

Funding to Curb Flow of Fentanyl

On Nov. 8, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the Senate Committee on Appropriations about a multi-billion-dollar supplemental funding request filed by President Joe Biden for border security in October.

Mr. Mayorkas said the funding would equip DHS with the people and tools it needs to prevent cartels from moving fentanyl through U.S. ports of entry.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington on Nov. 8, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Mr. Mayorkas testified the additional funding would be used to hire new staff aimed at drug interdiction and to enhance the agency’s existing investigative capabilities.

Specifically, U.S. Customs and Border Protection would hire 1,000 new officers for ports of entry and make a “significant investment”—about $850 million—in so-called nonintrusive inspection equipment to scan vehicles for narcotics and paraphernalia.

Moreover, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) could enhance domestic and international counter-fentanyl activities.

New imaging technology purchased through the supplemental funding request would enable DHS to inspect all vehicles that enter the country. The money would deploy more than 100 inspection machines across so-called hot spots.

“Nonintrusive inspection technology … is a remarkably efficient force multiplier in enabling us to detect the ingenious ways that fentanyl is sought to be smuggled through those vehicles,” Mr. Mayorkas said.

Austin Alonzo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.