According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Big Island resident dies every 13 days from an overdose, mostly attributed to fentanyl.
The drug, which is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine, also accounts for the number one cause of death of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, according to the CDC.
A group of Big Island public and private institutions consisting of doctors, health care workers, county officials, educators and police have formed a task force to spread awareness, and plan to expand their work by addressing addiction at upcoming in-person seminars.
The new series of presentations about the dangers of fentanyl and addiction will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
“Fentanyl is a national epidemic. It has reached our shores and it’s here,” said Bay Clinic CEO and task force leader Kimo Alameda. “Research is showing it is more dangerous than cyanide. The equivalent of two grains of salt can kill you.”
The task force tagline, “Choose Not to Use,” takes a multipronged approach to address fentanyl and addiction in general.
“The task force goal is drug awareness and fentanyl poisoning prevention,” Alameda said. “Fentanyl can be laced in almost any drug, mostly pressed pills, but also into cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin. It’s so dangerous, we thought the best approach was just to share with everybody that gateway drugs are always the starting point.”
The presentations will highlight addiction statistics related to the accidental consumption of fentanyl.
“These gateway drugs take the place of brain chemicals that we produce naturally. So, if you continue to take these outside chemicals, after a while, the brain stops producing them,” said Alameda. “The addiction cycle goes from ‘I like it,’ to ‘I want it,’ to ‘I need it.’ And once you’re at the phase of ‘I need it,’ you’re addicted. Once you get stuck in addiction to any drug, the probability of you taking a drug that’s laced with fentanyl increases.”
Because Fentanyl is easy to mix into other drugs, detoxing can be difficult.
“Fentanyl has the most severe withdrawal of any addictive drug. It’s worse than coming off of heroin,” said Dr. Kevin Kunz, addiction medicine specialist at West Hawaii Community Health Center who serves on the task force.
Kunz noted 60% of the patients referred to him for addiction at WHCHC tested positive for fentanyl.
“Some of them know it, but a lot of them don’t,” he said.
The drug’s widespread presence has impacted local keiki as well.
“When I was growing up, there was pakalolo, and there was alcohol,” Kunz said. “Today, there’s a buffet line of drugs for our high school students. We lost two high school students on the Big Island in the last nine months.”
The task force is hoping presentations geared towards Hawaii Island youth will help combat addiction.
“Addiction is a pediatric disease; it starts with early use in adolescent years,” said Kunz. “We will never treat or incarcerate or bury our way out of this epidemic. Prevention is the key.”
The group cites information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse that states those who have used substances before the age of 15 have a 28% risk of addiction as an adult, while those who first use at age 21 and older have just a 4% risk.
“Those are two key messages,” Alameda said. “If you haven’t started, don’t. And if you want to experiment, wait until age 25. When the brain is fully developed, it has a better capacity to know these outside drugs are not good for us.”
The Hawaii Police Department, also a part of the fentanyl task force, has noticed an increased presence of the drug on the streets.
“We are seeing fentanyl in our communities,” said Capt. Thomas Shopay. “We’re starting to get it in recoverings from our vice and patrol officers that see it on the street, either in powder form or in counterfeit types of pills.”
Both Shopay and the task force agree awareness and education are key.
“The goal is to provide education to prevent people from using,” Shopay said. “But also to provide avenues for those that may have experimented with it, to show there are possibilities or potential for treatment, so you don’t have these devastating results of death or severe injury.”
Local resources for addiction listed by the task force include the West Hawaii Community Health Center, Bay Clinic, Big Island Substance Abuse Council, Lokahi Treatment Centers and the Coordinated Access Resource Entry System, or CARES line, which can be reached at (808) 753-6879.
Narcan also will be discussed and distributed at the upcoming meeting. The nasal spray is used to treat opioid overdoses, but while narcan can save lives, it is not seen as the end-all solution by the group.
“Reviving the dead is not prevention,” said Kunz. “We have to address prevention, early intervention, community-based recovery, medications, and we have to support those in recovery to let our island know that recovery is possible.”
The task force will host additional events from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on June 16 at the Pahala Community Center and June 23 at Tutu’s House Waimea, and from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on June 30 at the Puueo Community Center.
“Fentanyl is a silent killer,” Alameda said. “We’re coming out of COVID where we’ve seen an increase in alcohol and substance abuse, and fentanyl is sneaking in there too. Ultimately, we want folks, especially youth, to take the pledge, and just choose not to use.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.