SSP, WSP and Dakota County
join forces to fight fentanyl crisis
A lethal dose of fentanyl
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
A new program dedicated to halting the terrible trend of young adults dying from overdoses of illegal fentanyl is in the works for West St. Paul and South St. Paul. The cities are among the hardest hit by the fentanyl crisis in Dakota County.
The cities have partnered with Gateway Recovery Services to apply for two grants to kickstart a Community Opioid Response and Education program, which would be housed at the South Metro Fire Department. The grants would cover costs for a community EMT, certified peer recovery specialist, and a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. The staff would work with at-risk individuals and likely join first responders on cases involving drug overdoses.
The cities expect to hear by the end of October whether they will receive the $1.3 million federal grant or the $700,000 state grant; they only need one to come through to launch the program. This is the second year the cities have applied for grants to start the program. They were denied funding last year and if they’re turned down again this year, they will explore using funds recently received from Dakota County to launch a smaller scale pilot program.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, is involved in 92% of all opioid-involved deaths. Health officials say 6 out of 10 pills contain a lethal dose. Likewise, many other drugs are now being laced with fentanyl to make them more addicting and cheaper to produce and therefore Fentanyl is involved in 62% of all overdose deaths in Minnesota, according to 2022 data. West St. Paul and South St. Paul, have had 1,037 overdose incidents since 2020; 60% of them in ages 40 and under.
The State of Minnesota received more than $300 million in a settlement payout early this year as part of several multi-state lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors – total settlement amount to all states combined exceeded $46 billion. Every county in the state is getting a portion of that funding, which will be doled out annually over the next 18 years to combat the crisis. Cities with populations over 30,000 will receive additional funds. While South St. Paul and West St. Paul are among the most impacted by opioid overdoses, their populations were too small to warrant direct funding. However, Dakota County already received its 2024 portion – $2.42 million – and allocated $195,000 combined to the cities of South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Farmington, Rosemount and Hastings to be used over the next two years. Based on the severity of the issue in each city, West St. Paul received $35,926, Mendota Heights $15,451, and South St. Paul $66,858.
One of the problems in dealing with the opioid crisis, according to West St. Paul City Manager Nate Burkett, is that the county and state systems are hard to navigate. In addition, people who need help are reluctant to reach out for fear of being arrested or having child protection services step in.
“What we are trying to do is…remove barriers and improve the odds that a person with opioid use disorder can recover and reach their highest possible level of wellness,” Burkett said.
According to South St. Paul City Administrator Ryan Garcia, the city is currently combating the opioid crisis by enforcing controlled substance laws, as well as through public education about the drug’s potentially fatal effects.
“Our embedded team of a Dakota County Social Worker and South St. Paul Police Officer currently follow up on all non-fatal overdoses and provide education and resources in an effort to break the cycle of use and overdose,” Garcia said.
Dakota County will use the remainder of this year’s allocation to create a strategic plan to combat the opioid crisis. It will focus on prevention, treatment and recovery, harm reduction, and criminal legal enforcement, and is expected to be complete by spring 2025. This fall, the county will also accept requests for $390,000 in community-designated funds. To date, it has used settlement funding to hire an opioid response coordinator, expand opioid use disorder services in its jail treatment program and add Naloxone pick-up points at public health offices, libraries and schools. Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose if administered in time. The settlement fund has also paid for a contract with Steve Rumler Hope Network to provide Naloxone training across the county.
Dakota County also operates a drug task force, a cooperative effort among all county law enforcement agencies focusing on halting the sale, distribution and use of narcotics, and investigating gang and violent offender crimes. The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office has three investigators assigned to it and they work closely with an investigator with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Those found in possession of fentanyl are subject to be arrested, jailed, and charged for possession of a schedule II controlled substance. Those found selling it are subject to the same punishments and also may be held accountable if their sale of the drug resulted in the death of another person.
Dakota County has several major thoroughfares connecting large cities so it’s not surprising to law enforcement officials that illegal drugs come through. In late 2023, local law enforcement in Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties launched a joint investigation that led to the biggest drug bust in Minnesota’s history according to federal investigators: 280,000 pills with a total street value of about $2.2 million were confiscated. The Arizona-based trafficking operation that was mailing the drug here in toy stuffed animals was broken up.
According to the task force, overdoses are up since February in Dakota County and show an increased presence of fentanyl in the drug supply, specifically in powder cocaine.
Recovery is possible
According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control, fentanyl claimed the lives of an estimated 74,702 Americans in 2023. In Minnesota, opioid-involved overdose deaths increased 43% from 2020 to 2022.
The number of medically prescribed opioids, however, has been decreasing since 2017, down 30% between 2017 and 2022 alone. Many people who abuse the drugs began using them first in prescription form.
Anyone experiencing opioid addiction is strongly urged to get help. Recovery resources can be found by visiting fasttrackermn.org. Additionally, fentanyl test strips and Naloxone are available over the counter. For immediate mental health and emotional support, call 988, or text “MN” to the crisis text line at 741741. For emergencies, call 911.