Jan 30, 2023

Law enforcement seize fentanyl; officials want overdose medication widely available,

Government officials want to hand out medication capable of stopping an opioid overdose in its tracks, ahead of concerns that Guam could be struck by the opioid epidemic that’s already swept across much of the mainland.

GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio told lawmakers Monday that two seizures of the powerful opioid fentanyl have been confirmed on Guam, one by the Customs & Quarantine Agency and another by federal law enforcement. Ignacio said he knew of at least two fentanyl overdoses that occurred on island.

Synthetic fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and is lethal in minuscule doses, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“We just need to deal with the fact that it has made its way to Guam. It’s been seized and actually made it out to the streets, and we have an active investigation into the opioid scene as well are the fentanyl scene,” Ignacio said.

The chief spoke during a hearing for Bill 10, legislation that would allow overdose-stopping “opioid-antagonists” to be handed out without a prescription to first responders, community groups, and people at high risk of overdose. Those who administer or distribute such a drug would be granted legal immunity, provided they haven’t committed gross negligence through their actions.

Speaker Therese Terlaje introduced the bill and called it a “proactive approach to responding to overdoses and ensuring we save the lives within our communities,” and said training will be required for anyone who receives the drug.

Ignacio said GPD already accidentally ordered 100 boxes of one such overdose antidote, called naloxone, without a standing order or prescription. Now the antidote is sitting on police station shelves instead of out on the street, where it could be used to save lives, he said.

The chief brought a box of the antidote GPD had bought, in a nasal-spray formation called Narcan, and passed it around to senators.

Accidental overdose

Attorney General Doug Moylan was likewise supportive of Bill 10.

“We’re looking not at just the victims that take the fentanyl but also the first responders that can be affected by just a small quantity that’s airborne,” he said, adding that even the lives of drug-sniffing dogs were now a concern.

Moylan said allowing the broad distribution of drugs like naloxone would allow GovGuam to be paid with the opioid antidote instead of with cash as part of several of the multi-million dollar opioid company settlements that the government is a part of.

Sen. Jesse Lujan asked Moylan whether student resource officers and nurses in local schools would be able to administer such a drug without parental consent, in the event a student were to be exposed to fentanyl.

“They should not only have the ability to, you know, have an inventory, but also the immunity associated,” Moylan said.

Immunity for users

In some instances, a person using illegal substances should be granted immunity, according to Public Defender Service Corporation Deputy Director John Morrison.

“If two people are using drugs together, and one person overdoses, I think the legislature should incentivize the person who did not overdose to call the police. I think they may think twice about doing that, as the law is currently written, because they could be arrested,” he said.

Doing so would be a “balancing act,” to ensure someone did not get off free on charges for more serious crimes, Morrison said.

Moylan disagreed, saying “it shouldn’t be a get out of get out of jail free card.”

Sen. Telo Taitague said lawmakers would have to weigh that suggestion moving forward.

By: Joe Taitano II

Source: Pacific Daily News