IDAHO — The Department of Justice announced they sentenced 11 people last month following a major drug bust in Idaho in 2023. During the bust, they confiscated 48 thousand fentanyl pills.
Law enforcement says our communities are safer because of it. But are we really? Senior reporter Roland Beres talked to experts about the possible unintended consequences of major drug busts.
Taking dangerous and highly addictive drugs off the streets hardly seems like a bad thing. “Nearly 50,000 Fentanyl pills that were seized, any one of which could have contained a lethal dose.”
In fact, according to the CDC, fentanyl alone killed close to 74,000 people in the U.S. in 2022. Gov. Little says, “It’s the most cruel, inhumane, insidious industry there is.”
But making a huge bust can sometimes have a side effect that most people don’t consider.
“I, for me, I had to find other drugs. When some drugs were taken off the streets, I found other drugs,” said Justin Hunter, a recovering addict who's been clean for 21 years. He now helps other addicts get clean — but he and other addiction specialists know the time after a bust can be dangerous.
“In the short term, that’s what we find: potentially increased illegal activity and a lot of desperate measures,” explains Nycole Thomas, Executive VP of patient services with Northpoint Recovery.
A recent study by the American Journal of Public Health found that fatal overdoses, calls to 911, and the use of the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone increased in neighborhoods immediately after big drug busts.
The study found that addicts turn to alternative and unfamiliar drug sources, resulting in more overdoses.
You might say, “That’s just the dangers an addict faces.” But if you really want to save lives, everyone agrees, drug busts help, but they are not the key.
“We recognize as state police, we can’t arrest our way out of this problem,” says Sgt. Curt Sproat with ISP.
”I’m pretty sure when drugs are taken off the streets, there are people that know how to re-saturate an area just as fast as it was taken off,” says Hunter.
It may not capture the public’s attention like a table of confiscated drugs, but everyone I talked to says the only way to stop drugs is to stop demand, and that means education and treatment. Something Hunter knows a lot about.
“People that find and look for recovery are not weak, they’re warriors. If you’re willing to go head to head, toe to toe with your demon,s that makes you a tough guy,” says Hunter. And he adds that he’s ready to help anyone looking to end addiction find the services they need.
Governor Little says he’s doing what he can to improve education, adding another half million to fentanyl awareness in the past legislative session. And I asked him the obvious question, is that enough? "Probably not," Little replied.
Meanwhile, police continue the important and dangerous role of busting drug dealers and confiscating drugs, knowing full well it’s only part of the solution.
If you or someone you know needs help with addiction, Justin Hunter would like to help. He’s with Northpoint Recovery. His email is jhunter@northpointrecovery.com.
