Idaho delegation calls for accountability on fentanyl

Idaho’s congressional leaders are calling for President Joe Biden’s administration to answer for what they say is a failure to stop the flow of fentanyl into Idaho through the southern border.

“Since day one, this administration exacerbated the crisis at our border and undermined the efforts of those trying to secure it,” wrote the lawmakers in a letter Thursday. “By allowing drug cartels to exploit our southern border, the Biden-Harris administration is complicit in the flow of fentanyl into our country. Idaho families are paying the price.” 

The letter is signed by U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo and U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher. 

According to the letter, fentanyl overdoses claimed 197 Idahoans last year. It said that just seven years ago, in 2017, that number was only 13. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Fentanyl pills are easily accessible, officials have said, and have become a major concern for law enforcement in North Idaho. 

In September, North Idaho College hosted a public meeting on “The Escalating Threat of Fentanyl in North Idaho Part II" to address “the growing concerns surrounding fentanyl and its impact on the region's health care system.” 

At that meeting, Debbie Critchfield, superintendent of public instruction in Idaho, said fentanyl is “the No. 1 issue” facing many schools in rural Idaho.

Dr. Ben Milam, an addiction medicine doctor with Kootenai Health, said “100% of patients” that he sees are struggling with fentanyl.

Earlier this year, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris spoke in favor of mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of trafficking fentanyl.

He said it's not uncommon for deputies to come across suspects in possession of hundreds or thousands of fentanyl pills, and said the increasing frequency of these types of stops is troubling. 

“If we were seeing that much on a straight traffic stop with no nexus to a drug investigation, how much is getting through?” he said. 

In a presentation last year, Idaho State Police District 1 Capt. John Kempf said that in Kootenai County in 2022, there were 42 overdose deaths, with 24 directly related to fentanyl. 

He said ISP troopers were seizing between 1,000 to 2,000 fentanyl pills each week in traffic stops. 

He said North Idaho began seeing a huge uptick in the amount of fentanyl available on the streets in 2013 and saw a corresponding spike in overdose deaths. 

“This is something that has a direct effect on all of us and our community,” he said. 

The drug overdose death rate in Idaho increased in 17 of the last 23 years for which data is available. The overdose death rate increased by 42% since 2018 and by 54% since 2013, according to usafacts.org.

And according to data from the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, there were about 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2023 — a decrease of 3% from about 111,000 deaths estimated in 2022.  

In their letter, Idaho’s congressional delegation wrote that “enough is enough” and said they wanted to know what the Department of Homeland Security’s comprehensive plan was to track and monitor the flow of fentanyl trafficked across the border into states like Idaho. 

“The administration’s failure to address this national crisis is not only negligent but dangerous,” the letter said. “Idaho deserves better. Our communities, families, and children deserve better.” 

    Crapo
  

    Simpson
  

    Fulcher