With fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths continuing to occur across North Alabama, Limestone Sheriff Josh McLaughlin and Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson remind people of the dangers of street drugs.

“We have to consider just almost any kind of substance or drugs that we’re seizing to possibly have fentanyl because it’s so out there,” Johnson said. “It’s just everywhere. We have to be careful in what we’re doing.”

“It seems like every time we get a drug bust or do a search warrant somewhere something is either laced with fentanyl or they have fentanyl,” McLaughlin said.

The rise of fentanyl began as legislation and law enforcement began a war on opioids.

“When the opiate crisis hit, we would have Lortab out there, Percocet, or whatever. All that sitting out there that’s probably what it was, is being obtained either legally or illegally and sold on the street, coming out of a lot of pain clinics, different things,” Johnson said.

After officials began cracking down on the opioid distribution, cartels and dealers had to do something different, Johnson said.

“The cartels and different things started making their version of that drug, and then mark it out on the street. We knew what the drug was supposed to be. They’d even put the right number for the dosage,” Johnson said.

“Drug dealers want their drugs to be more addictive, more powerful than others,” McLaughlin said.

When law enforcement would test the drugs they realized that they contained substances other than what they were supposed to.

“Fentanyl was one of the things that we started seeing that was turning up in some of the pills,” Johnson said.

Most overdose deaths now are classified as accidental deaths.

“A lot of times that person is not trying to kill themself. They don’t mean to kill themselves, but what happens is they don’t really know what they’re getting ahold of and then they take the normal amount they’ve been taking,” Johnson said. “It’s got Fentanyl in it and now they’re overdosed and don’t realize it.”

McLaughlin maintains that the increased availability of Narcan is a good thing.

“I think it has its place. I think it’s a necessity right now,” McLaughlin said. “Anything you can do to help save someone’s life is absolutely necessary. Given the current drug trend with fentanyl, if you can get it for the public, no one wants to lose a loved one to a drug habit, so I think it’s a good thing they’re making it available.”

A fentanyl trafficking bill was passed in the Alabama House that would impose greater penalties on fentanyl chargers.

It reads, as follows:

“Under existing law, a person who knowingly sells, manufactures, delivers, or is in possession of four or more grams of any mixture containing Fentanyl, or any synthetic controlled substance Fentanyl analogue, is subject to various mandatory terms of imprisonment and fines.

Existing law provides only for fines concerning the unlawful sale, manufacture, delivery, or possession of Fentanyl as a single component.

This bill would provide for mandatory terms of imprisonment for a person who engages in the unlawful sale, manufacture, delivery, or possession of one or more grams of Fentanyl as a single component. This bill would also impose additional criminal penalties for subsequent violations.”

This bill is now on its way to the Alabama Senate.