LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Nationwide, we've heard the stories and reports of the growing opioid epidemic and how deadly it can be. On Thursday, in Washington, lawmakers focused on one precisely, and that was fentanyl and the dangers it poses.
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District, over the last several years, fentanyl cases in Arkansas have increased.
"The number of fentanyl cases that our office has prosecuted has gone up and is going up by 20, 30, 40, 50 cases per year," Criminal Chief for the Eastern District of Arkansas Chris Givens said. "I see that happening again in 2024."
Givens said lowering those numbers is a top priority for their office.
"It takes that tiny amount of fentanyl to kill a person," Givens said. "If somebody is selling fentanyl in whatever amounts, we are going to be looking at the case."
Along with Givens, United States Attorney Jonathan Ross said the approach is much like the recent push from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who established the Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act, which focuses on cracking down on distributors.
"Our goal of this office is to make the sentence so severe, for anyone conducting transactions and fentanyl, that it sends the message to them and the community this is not worth spending the rest of your life in prison," Ross said.
Ross said the drug has rapidly become a public safety concern for Arkansas as it's wiping out generations.
"In 2023, approximately 110,000 Americans lost their lives to overdoses related to counterfeit drugs, opioids, and other substances," Ross said. "This is unacceptable. It leaves devastated families in its wake."
While they don't expect to solve this problem overnight, Givens said it's all hands on deck at their office to control this epidemic.
"When we are seeing people hurt by this problem, and we feel like we can help, and if we can get just one drug dealer off the street, that's going to help a family out there somewhere," Givens said.