BILLINGS — Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 50 to 100 times as potent as heroin and it’s one of the most common drugs involved in fatal overdoses nationwide, according to the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare.
In Montana, fentanyl is running rampant. It's getting into the hands of youth— and all it takes is one pill to kill.
“I think peer pressure has a big thing to do with it mostly,” said Teigan Blomquist, a sophomore at Billings West High School, on Tuesday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Congress passed groundbreaking opioid-fighting legislation in 2018, but the number of fatal overdoses has increased by 64% nationwide.
“We see a lot of accidental fentanyl use in Montana," said Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Tuesday. "Especially with young people."
Opioid abuse is growing in Montana, and Billings teens are witnessing it firsthand.
“It’s definitely much more socially acceptable nowadays," said Beau Dringman, a sophomore at Billings West, on Tuesday. "So it's kind of a lot of people making it seem like it’s just nothing."
Knudsen, a Republican, said the best way to stop it is prevention education.
“Prevention is absolutely the best cure we have here. I mean, we know talking to these kids at a young age. They’re being exposed to fentanyl and other dangerous drugs at an age much earlier than most parents or guardians would like to believe," said Knudsen. "So the absolute best cure we have is educating these kids at an early age. About what this looks like, how you’re going to encounter it, and what to do when you do."
Knudsen said the problem is only growing.
"I think a lot of kids, they may be experimenting with different drugs or drugs they think are harmless. And what they don’t realize, is whether it’s accidental or whether the cartels are doing it on purpose. We are seeing fentanyl just mixed in with everything," Knudsen said. "It’s nationwide, it’s statewide. I mean, we don’t see this just in one region of Montana or one part of Montana, one demographic of Montana. We see it literally everywhere."
Rocky Herron, a former DEA agent, spent 31 years of his life tracking down cartels.
“I would like any adult who’s listening who has their own children or grandchildren or young people in their life to understand that you’re not safe," Herron told MTN News on Tuesday. "This problem is striking across all of America."
The father of three realized drug education was becoming a thing of the past.
"I discovered during my career that my own kids weren’t getting any drug education in schools. Many of the young people who I was arresting who got addicted hadn’t got any drug education. So I finally said, you know what, I’m going to be that guy," Herron said. "So I retired three years ago and now basically my full-time job is going to schools all over the US and around the world, giving kids basic information so they’re more powerful. So the kids understand their choices.”
This is why he’s now traveling the country, speaking to students about the dangers of drug abuse, specifically fentanyl. On Tuesday, he made a stop at Billings West High School.
"It’s broken my heart to see that it’s everywhere. I was in North Dakota a few weeks ago. Fentanyl and meth and coke are there. I look at statistics. It’s here in your beautiful city," Herron said.
According to the CDC, between July 2019 and December 2021, 1,800 teens in the US died from fentanyl overdoses. The numbers have only increased since then, according to drug-enforcement authorities.
Whether teens are intentionally seeking the synthetic opioid out or inadvertently ingesting it believing it to be a different drug, the speakers at Billings West said it’s a growing problem that needs attention.
"Everywhere I go in America and now around the world, this problem is growing," Herron said. "And the drugs today, the synthetic drugs today are stronger, cheaper, and more profitable than ever before. And they’re flooding every part of society."
Knudsen agrees.
"Our seizure numbers are up a staggering amount for fentanyl. Our overdose deaths are up a staggering amount," Knudsen said. "2023 was another record-setting year for us for our fentanyl seizures in Montana. So that shows you what the cartels are pushing. But we are finding fentanyl just mixed into everything.”
To learn more about Rocky Herron, click here.
To learn more about fentanyl in Montana, click here.
