In the domain of opioids, one synthetic substance stands out as both a potent painkiller and an absolute assassin—Fentanyl. As students from Highlands High School are dealing with an escalating crisis, the deadly grasp of Fentanyl continues to end countless lives in Northern Kentucky, leaving devastation through its path. This fatal substance leaves families and entire cities in pure shock, while the death rate substantially increases.
Zac Rohlfer, resource officer for Highlands, was on the front line to bust these operations for the Northern Kentucky Drug Task Force (KDTF.)
Rohlfer said: “The KDTF helped me to learn about drugs so I can keep students at Highlands informed.”
Originally used as a painkiller, according to the CDC, Fentanyl is taking many lives due to overdoses in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati region. Fentanyl is involved in deaths of people younger than 50 more than any other cause, including cancer, homicide, and suicide. In the past two years, teen overdose deaths connected to opioids, like Fentanyl, have doubled in Northern Kentucky. Fentanyl makes very potent drugs, like Heroin, look puny because Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin.
Though there are other opioids like this, Fentanyl reigns superior when compared to all other opioids and narcotics.
Officer Zac Rohlfer states: “Regular Fentanyl users eventually pass away due to the effects of Fentanyl or they use too much of it and overdose.”
Fentanyl affects the area of the brain that controls emotion and pain, which in turn makes people not feel any emotions and numbs pain when under the influence.
Licensed clinical drug and alcohol counselor Santosh Adhikary said: “Using Fentanyl even once will completely alter and ruin your life’s path.”
Many teens and adults in Northern Kentucky are affected by Fentanyl and other opioids due to the addictive nature of these drugs.
“Many families will be introduced to Fentanyl and other narcotics because someone in their family will be addicted. What is upsetting about this is that it is extremely difficult to stop using Fentanyl, which is why most users pass away,” Rohlfer said.
Like most narcotics, Fentanyl changes your brain’s chemistry and it no longer regulates endorphins correctly. These endorphins are what make the body feel at peace or good. When someone is addicted to Fentanyl, the brain and body replace these endorphins with Fentanyl.
Adhikary: “Fentanyl not only reduces brain chemistry, it also takes a toll on your body’s ability to feel pain and other sensations.”
Most of these Fentanyl users don’t just use it once every day since they need more of the drug to feel the same effect, which is their tolerance building up. Nurse Rhonda Wassom, ER worker, states, “I have had multiple encounters with Fentanyl, but one stuck out. A female with a bright future overdosed on Fentanyl as well as other drugs like heroin. She shot up 5 times a day and was a recurring person in the ER.” Fentanyl kills in many ways, but one of the most prominent ways deaths happen is car accidents. When Fentanyl users get behind the wheel, they fall asleep. This is commonly referred to “nodding off.”
Rohlfer stated: “Generally, I was called to an overdose and found out it was Fentanyl, or they are driving recklessly because of Fentanyl then they wreck because they basically fell asleep.”
In Northern Kentucky, 90% of overdoses are opioid-related, 72.5% of those being because of the use of Fentanyl.
Wassom stated: “Many opioid overdose cases in my ER are directly related or associated with Fentanyl because of the potency of it.”
2,135 Kentuckians lost their lives due to opioid use last year. Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky’s Counterdrug Program seized 142 pounds of Fentanyl over seven months that could have caused almost certain death for more than 28.9 million people.
Adhikary: “This program has helped many individuals escape the bad and excruciating life of a regular Fentanyl user.”
The use of Fentanyl in Kentucky is rising because prescription pills are not giving the user a good enough feeling anymore due to tolerance. This leads them to crave for a new and stronger feeling, and Fentanyl can provide that.
Rohlfer: “Pills start most addictions, and people need a stronger substance. It is easy to import Fentanyl, so there are more chances to buy and sell in Northern Kentucky.” Many, many people in the Northern Kentucky area are impacted by the use of opioids like Fentanyl. The use of opioids flips people’s lives around for a negative effect, which directly influences peers around them.
Rohlfer: “The use of any opioid will 100% negatively impact anyone’s life. Sadly, there are many teens in Kentucky who decide to get started with drugs. So, my advice is to choose the drug-free path to thrive throughout the entirety of life.”
