Doctors, Police, Sununu Raise Concerns About Fentanyl In Drugs: Watch

CONCORD, NH — State and local police and health officials are raising concerns about fentanyl being found laced in other drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription medications, and marijuana, in New Hampshire and other states.

Gov. Chris Sununu, Dr. Nicholas Larochelle, the medical director of Concord Hospital’s emergency department, Col. Nathan Noyes of the New Hampshire State Police, and others held a news conference on Thursday to discuss the issue stating, repeatedly, that “one pill could truly kill,” after an uptick in reports of substance use misuse being treated in hospitals and ambulances across New England and the nation. Police and workers in the health care field have reported a number of instances where people have consumed both legal and illegal drugs, and became sick or addicted, due to fentanyl in the drugs.

Sununu said police, doctors, nurses, and others, were seeing issues every day. To raise awareness, the state will be unveiling a new marketing campaign.

“We want folks to get very aggressive,” Sununu said when emphasizing not using drugs and preventing more poisoning and possible death, too.

The marketing effort will also make residents aware of prevention and access to substance abuse programs.

Sununu said, while he felt the effort would be a good one, the larger problem is that it is after the fact — when people are already addicted to drugs. He hoped to be able to head off some of those issues by expanding awareness.

The governor also met with his youth advisory council recently and they, too, raised concerns about problems with drug danger awareness. Sununu said meth and fentanyl were problems in every high school in the state.

“It’s directly from them, about what is happening in their schools, flying under the radar of teachers and members of their communities,” he said. “The best solution to the drug crisis is prevention.”

Money will be invested in detox beds and other efforts and not just in cities but also in smaller towns, he said.

Noyes, who Sununu said was on the frontlines of this issue, said there was “concrete evidence” of an increase of fentanyl in other substances of as much as 1,800 percent between 2014 and 2021, based on lab testing. Fentanyl is more than 50 times as powerful as heroin and in 70 percent of cases of drug samples, fentanyl is mixed in, he said.

Some of the samples come in various colors, including pink and purple, with pills looking like real prescriptions for Adderall and other medications. Noyes said buyers do not always know what they are getting, especially if they are buying them on the black market.

“When these pills are produced, there is no quality control of the product,” he said of the counterfeit drugs. “One pill could contain hardly any fentanyl at all while another could kill you.”

Noyes held up a bag with 96 fentanyl pills masked as oxycodone, to prove his point.

Chris Stawasz, the regional director for New Hampshire and Maine of American Medical Response, said EMTs in the field were seeing an increase in overdoses and other medical episodes due to fentanyl lacing. He called it a significant problem in areas the company served, including Manchester and Nashua. Stawasz also encouraged everyone to be in possession of Narcan, an overdose treatment shot, that can revive people.

“To reiterate, there is no safe illicit drug,” he said. “One pill can kill.”

Larochelle said, during the past five years, medical professions had seen “a significant increase” in cases. “The higher potency of fentanyl” was leading to serious issues, he said. Larochelle added officials had seen “complications in young, otherwise healthy” people due to fentanyl exposure.

Larochelle said there had been an increase in substance use disorder treatment in Concord and the capital region of about 20 percent, something he said was fortunate.

“Prevention, treatment, and harm reduction strategies,” Larochelle said, “continue to be a central component as we continue to fight the opioid epidemic.”

During questions and answers, Sununu was asked about the legalization of marijuana as a possible solution.

In all three surrounding states, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, marijuana is legal and sold like liquor or cigarettes, at regulated, licensed dispensaries, so there is no fentanyl lacing. In New Hampshire, marijuana legalization has consistently been rejected by slim margins despite the general public wanting it legal, according to some polls. Marijuana is decriminalized in small amounts.

However, Sununu challenged the concept calling it ignorant of the problem.

“The idea that legalizing marijuana will combat this problem is pure ignorance,” Sununu said. “If that were the case, you wouldn’t find this problem in all the other New England states that have already legalized it around us.”

Sununu also raised the issue of “black market” marijuana in place like Colorado as a possible danger that could come to New Hampshire if legalization occurred. He said the black market would increase the possibility of fentanyl-laced marijuana.

However, while black market marijuana is an issue in Colorado, including a number of large growing operations and busts, there is no indication those sales are laced with fentanyl or lead to an increase in fentanyl poisoning, according to press reports. In fact, almost all of the stories concerning fentanyl-laced drugs in Colorado were prescription pills and had no connection to marijuana.

Advocates also said the regulated marijuana market in places Colorado allowed for convenient and inexpensive sales for adults — so they do not have to purchase black market marijuana and are not exposed to fentanyl poisoning, if it existed. Most of the black market marijuana grown in Colorado is shipped elsewhere — meaning legalization has played no role at all in fentanyl poisoning. Black market sales are thriving in prohibition states, reports said.

In Massachusetts, some reports noted marijuana legalization appeared to be putting pot dealers out of business — meaning black market marijuana was not an issue. Marijuana laced with fentanyl also does not appear to be an issue in the state based on the lack of news reporting of the issue — although there were at least a few recent reports of black market sellers in the Bay State being arrested.

When asked about what illegal marijuana or substance abusers could do, Sununu suggested accessing fentanyl testing strips for drugs before use, something readily available as part of prevention programming. But, he countered, “Again, the best use is no use right now. It really is.”

Sununu said, while bills for marijuana legalization have not reached his desk, it was not the time to consider it, based on all the fentanyl lacing and overdose issues. He noted he was the governor who signed decriminalization and expanded medical marijuana legislation, policies he thought were important. But today, people using illegal drugs need to be aware of fentanyl in all the substances due to not knowing where the drugs were coming from.

“It’s a real problem,” he said.

Sununu also called for action at the federal level with southern border security with Mexico as well as action against China, where the fentanyl is originating. He said there was also money available at the state level for addicts who are seeking treatment.

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