Montgomery County commissioners will put together a task force to investigate fentanyl use in Montgomery County, especially among teenage and young adult users.
At a May 10 commissioners court session, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack brought forward the item. Task force members are not yet final but would include Noack, County Judge Mark Keough and Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker as well as representatives from the county sheriff’s office, constable precincts and the district attorney’s office.
“[Fentanyl] kills people unknowingly, and it’s a horrible, horrible drug,” Noack said.
Part of the committee’s purpose would be putting forward money received from lawsuits against drug manufacturers and distributors that Montgomery County joined. According to Noack, the county is set to receive $3 million.
County Attorney B.D. Griffin also said approximately $30 million would be available for Montgomery County to apply for. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured $1.6 billion from lawsuits against manufacturers, including Johnson and Johnson, and distributors, including AmerisourceBergen.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, total reported drug overdoses in Texas increased 33% from 2020-21.
Fentanyl struggles
Kathryn Pinneri, the county’s director of forensic services, said fentanyl usage was recorded at its highest in people ages 14-23 across the United States. She cited its “euphoric” high as a reason why people continued to return despite the drug’s danger.
“A third of our cases that have been drug-related have fentanyl in their systems,” Pinneri said. “People think they are buying Xanax or OxyContin, and they have fentanyl in them. A grain the size of sand or salt can kill someone.”
The federal Drug Enforcement Agency described fentanyl as a synthetic opioid 80-100 times stronger than morphine, initially designed to relieve pain in cancer patients. The DEA warned users unintentionally take the drug when it is mixed or hidden with less potent drugs, such as heroin, which can lead to overdoses.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic opioid overdose deaths nationwide rose 55.6% from 2020-21.
County Sheriff Rand Henderson said his officers had also encountered marijuana and pressed pills laced with the drug as well. He said the task force combined with access to funding would be a good move going forward.
“We’re on the awareness side; we’re on the enforcement side; we’re deeply involved in the investigative side,” Henderson said. “I’m very appreciate of when we can all come together and work smarter, not harder.”
Narcan, education expansion
Potential solutions put forward included expanding access to naloxone, a narcotic that can reverse an overdose. Naloxone is often sold under the brand name Narcan.
“The access to and availability of naloxone would be a huge benefit for the county,” Pinneri said.
Community Impact Newspaper previously reported the Montgomery County Hospital District used naloxone 309 times in 2019, 304 times in 2020 and 375 times in 2021.
Jason Millsaps, the county’s emergency management director, said at the May 10 meeting that expanding access would allow law enforcement officers to carry multiple units of Narcan, which is usually sold in units of two doses. Pinneri said fentanyl overdoses usually require more than one dose.
Henderson said he applied for grants that would allow officers to receive additional doses of Narcan to carry with them.
Walker raised the question of education on drug awareness. Conroe ISD has a curriculum under review on topics relating to opioid use and overdose.
Commissioners unanimously approved the formation of the task force, but specific funding adjustments were not discussed at the meeting. Noack's Chief of Staff Evan Besong told Community Impact Newspaper there was no timeframe on when the task force would move forward on any items.
