Gov. Reynolds lays out plan to fight fentanyl crisis
Gov. Kim Reynolds and top state officials addressed the fentanyl crisis in America and Iowa as it enters a new deadly stage.
The commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety says stopping the flow of fentanyl into Iowa is one of their biggest priorities. Saying drug traffickers are killing Iowans who don't want to die.
Statewide drug overdose deaths are up 34% since 2019.
Right now, four out of ten pills laced with fentanyl contain a lethal amount.
In 2022, Iowa law enforcement is on pace to recover 145,000 pills laced with fentanyl, a 740% increase from last year.
Deric and Kathy Kidd know that it only takes one of those pills to take a life. Their son Sebastian, 17, fell victim to fentanyl.
"You don't want to wake up to your kid's lifeless body in the bedroom," says Deric Kidd. "Our son is gone. We will never get to see him or hold him again."
An emotional Reynolds pledged action.
She says a multimedia campaign will warn Iowans about the dangers of fentanyl.
A new 72 bed behavioral health and youth recovery campus will open in Central Iowa soon.
She also applauded Sen. Chuck Grassley's Stop Pills that Kill act and wants the deadly drug discussed in health class.
Reynolds blamed President Joe Biden's border policies for the increase in deadly drugs in Iowa.
"Secure the border. Do your job. Protect Americans and Iowans. This is coming into our communities and it's killing our kids and he could stop it tomorrow, at least put policies in place that would start to slow it down," Reynolds said. "I'm doing everything I can, but it would be nice to have a partner in Washington, D.C., that had enough wherewithal to stand up and take action."
State officials added that people dying from fentanyl overdoses think they're taking other drugs like oxycodone or Xanax; but it's actually a fake pill laced with fentanyl which is lethal in extremely small doses.
Related coverage: Central Iowa family warns about dangers of fentanyl after losing son to overdose