Attorney General Cameron Holds Operation Fight Fentanyl Forum in Whitley County

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling

Attorney General Daniel Cameron continued his fight against the opioid epidemic Wednesday by holding an “Operation Fight Fentanyl” forum in Whitley County. The event allowed Attorney General Cameron’s office to hear from stakeholders and community members regarding the impact of fentanyl and discuss possible solutions. This is the third event held by Attorney General Cameron to push back against the opioid epidemic.

“Battling and ending the opioid epidemic is a top priority for my office,” said Attorney General Cameron. “We’ve secured over $842 million in settlement funds to respond to this crisis, and now, as a convening authority, we’ve launched Operation Fight Fentanyl to facilitate essential conversations with legislators, prosecutors, law enforcement, local leaders, and community members so that together we can put a stop to this deadly scourge.”

Attorney General Cameron was joined in Corbin by a panel of prosecutor, administrative, and community partners as well as family members who have been impacted by fentanyl poisoning.

“I’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact fentanyl has had on communities across the Commonwealth,” said State Coordinator of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force Daren Atkins. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of today’s panel in Corbin and appreciate Attorney General Cameron’s efforts to meaningfully address the opioid crisis in the Commonwealth.”

Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest report, nearly 70,000 people died from overdose of synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, in the 12-month period ending in August 2022. In 2021, the Commonwealth lost 2,250 Kentuckians to overdose death, including 16 in Whitley County, and fentanyl was detected in more than 70 percent of these cases.

“Fentanyl poisoning is affecting every community in Kentucky, and the only way to solve it is to work together,” said Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission Bryan Hubbard. “Attorney General Cameron understands the need for collective action to effectively combat the opioid epidemic, and I’m grateful for the opportunity that Operation Fight Fentanyl provides to hear directly from those most impacted by this crisis.”

In September, Attorney General Cameron joined a bi-partisan coalition of 18 attorneys general in urging President Biden to classify fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Last month, he also joined 21 attorneys general in asking the Administration to designate certain Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Cameron sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the U.S. Department of Justice to take immediate action against the primary cause of overdose deaths in the United States: fentanyl.

Also present at Wednesday’s forum was Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling, who said, “When I first started practicing law people were abusing prescription pain pills, and that was our biggest problem. Then it switched to methamphetamine, which has ruined lives throughout our communities. But now we’re into fentanyl, and it is skipping ahead in this process by several year, killing people dead in their tracks.”

“The people who are profiting off of this are perpetrating what I would call violence in our communities,” Bowling continued. “Half of our dockets are being dismissed, because people with simple possession charges are dying before their next court date due to getting ahold of fentanyl. There have been cases where parents are overdosing on fentanyl, and it is being left out where their children can reach it. The problem is here, and the problem is real. “

Whitley County EMS Major Niki Ledford also served as a panelist at the forum, and spoke more about the negative effects that fentanyl is having on the local community, saying, “I have been with EMS for 12 years. We see lots of overdoses in general every day, including fentanyl overdoses. I know for a fact that just about everybody has been affected by this in some way or another.”

“We have to get a handle on this, and it starts with first responders,” Ledford added. “We’re the ones who will often encounter these people firsthand.”

Ledford also mentioned that the ability for EMS workers to carry and utilize “leave-behind” kits containing Narcan could go a long way in combating the climbing number of overdose deaths. She said that, while law enforcement agencies and fire departments are now able to leave these kits in places and situations where they feel it could be useful, EMS workers are currently not able to do the same.

Finally, former EMS dispatcher and current Knox County School Board member Kay Powers was also present as a panelist, sharing her personal story of loss after losing two children, Amber (31) and Ryan (30), to fentanyl overdoses.

Powers’ tragic story helped to shed light on not just the devastating effects of the drug itself, but also some of the systemic failures that allow for relapse, and loss of life, after a person has been caught using.

For more information on Operation Fight Fentanyl, visit the Attorney General’s official website at www.ag.ky.gov.