OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Fox Valley authorities are concerned as they saw a dramatic increase of fentanyl seizure over the past year.
The Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (LWAM) says it saw a 4,400% increase in fentanyl seized during 2022 compared to 2021 throughout the Fox Valley region.
This includes Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac and Calumet counties.
LWAM, along with Attorney General Josh Kaul, held a news conference in Oshkosh Thursday afternoon to address the issue. Kaul says there are plans beginning to take shape to further address the issue.
“By requesting 19 additional positions for our Division of Criminal Investigation, we would like to bring on additional investigators as well as some criminal analysts,” said Kaul. “So we’ve made that request in our upcoming biennial budget.”
Health officials say fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and up to 100 times stronger than morphine. Because it is strong and cheap to produce, people who manufacture illegal drugs use fentanyl to make other drugs more powerful and less expensive to make. Fentanyl can be added to pills, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, and other prescription drugs, often times unbeknownst to the person consuming them. It is also possible for a person to take a drug, knowing it contains fentanyl, but no way of knowing if it contains a lethal amount.
Oshkosh Police Chief, Dean Smith, shared how fentanyl has impacted their community.
“In 2022 the City of Oshkosh has 13 deaths as a result of overdoses in our community,” said Smith. “Just in this month of March alone, we’ve had 3 overdose deaths.”
According to the DEA, just two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage. That’s less than the tip of a pencil.
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