BOISE, Idaho — Governor Brad Little announced the state will be directing $1 million to confronting the growing fentanyl problem in Idaho.
"A trace of fentanyl the size of a grain of salt is enough to kill you, and many times it is laced into other pills or drugs – even black-market vape cartridges – and you won't even know it," Gov. Little said during a press conference Thursday. "Meth and fentanyl seizures have dramatically increased in Idaho and across the country. We must act now. Given the magnitude of the problem, we are acting immediately to turn the tide and protect Idaho families."
In the coming weeks, the funds will be used for two specific goals: purchasing additional roadside equipment and educating the public on the dangers of fentanyl through large-scale media campaigns.
Idaho State Police (ISP), in cooperation with the Governor's Office of Drug Policy, will coordinate the efforts of the media campaign.
Earlier this year, the governor launched "Operation Esto Perpetua" as a strategy to address the growing drug threat in our communities.
The goal of the project is to bring law enforcement and families together to search for new, meaningful ways to reduce the flow of fentanyl and methamphetamine into the state.
According to the governor's office, law enforcement reporting shows drugs are primarily transported into Oregon and Idaho from Mexico through California. Also, approximately 96% of drug trafficking organizations investigated identified Mexico as the source country for drugs trafficked into the region.
Law enforcement from around the state pointed to staffing shortages and a lack of testing capacity as a key issue in fighting Idaho's drug problem, saying it sometimes takes weeks to get results back on drug seizures. This makes it difficult to apprehend dangerous substances from someone that is just "passing through".
ISP has deployed $250,000 from the governor's "Leading Idaho" plan to the operation, and will use the funds to hire additional investigators and increase patrol hours for drug interdiction.
This spring, the Citizens Action Group spent two months traveling the state and holding public meetings to hear Idahoan's stories about the impact of fentanyl in their communities. The governor shared the findings of the report during Thursday's press conference.
According to the findings of the report, potential solutions include:
- The need to significantly boost awareness and education around the dangers of fentanyl
- The need to continue to push for border security and minimize the flow of illicit drugs into our country and state
- The need to better integrate information sharing between law enforcement, first responders, health care, tribes, coroners, and others to tackle the problem strategically
- The need to continue increasing resources for mental health and behavioral health
The governor's Law Enforcement Panel will analyze the report and create recommendations for the governor to include in next year's budget. Gov. Little will present the budget in January in his 2023 State of the State and Budget Address.
"I appreciate the members of my Operation Esto Perpetua initiative – both the Citizens Action Group on Fentanyl and the Law Enforcement Panel – for serving our people and coming up with solutions to help us fight the growing drug threat in Idaho," Governor Little added.
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