On Monday, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office held a forum about ways to fight the fentanyl epidemic.
Expert panelists at the forum in Scottsdale say that the fentanyl crisis is a teenage crisis. While things like NARCAN can save someone who is having a fentanyl overdose, the best way families can protect their kids is with information.
Fentanyl deaths in Maricopa County have increased by 5,000% in the last decade, according to officials.
“You can order it up online, you don’t have to go to a bad part of town and find a dealer anymore. Dealers sell on social media,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
Over the last two years, the DEA seized more than half of the country’s illicit fentanyl in Arizona. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has seen a dramatic increase in the number of fentanyl cases.
“What’s different that we’re seeing is that a lot of the cartel members are using people here to get the poison and bring it back across,” said Mitchell.
“I’m just really concerned because it’s cropping up more and more and more,” said Marybeth Evans, a Chandler nurse and grandmother.