MERIDIAN, Idaho — Idaho Governor Brad Little toured the Idaho State Police forensics laboratory on Tuesday as part of National Fentanyl Awareness Day.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen recently introduced a resolution designating April 29 as National Fentanyl Awareness Day to "drive awareness of counterfeit fentanyl pills."
Fentanyl can be extremely deadly and is considered 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.
“Fentanyl overdoses claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans last year, many of whom suffered from accidental poisonings after taking counterfeit prescription pills," Grassley said. “Our resolution demonstrates continuing resolve to put an end to America’s fentanyl epidemic.”
Little toured the ISP forensic lab because the lab helps to quickly identify drugs recovered by Idaho police. The state hopes to open a second lab in the next two years, as the current one is regularly overwhelmed.
“We launched Operation Esto Perpetua early in 2022 to take action against fentanyl, and our efforts are clearly working,” Governor Little said. "Fentanyl overdose deaths in Idaho are on the decline. Our investments in law enforcement, public awareness, behavioral health, and corrections are turning the tide. On this National Fentanyl Awareness Day, we remember the victims who lost their lives to fentanyl and the loved ones they left behind."
