KSHB 41 anchor/reporter JuYeon Kim covers agricultural issues and the fentanyl crisis. Share your story idea with JuYeon.
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On the front lawn of First Call KC, an alcohol and drug prevention and recovery center, 400 Narcan-shaped yard stakes represent an overdose death in the Kansas City area in 2024.
Erin Horn with First Call KC says about half of the crosses represent someone whose death was fentanyl-related.
It is the mission of people like Horn to educate the public about how to protect themselves against fentanyl.
Staff at First Call KC give Naloxone kits to anyone who will take them. They distributed 8,000 boxes last year, because they know naloxone can be the difference between life and death.
“We’ve actually seen a lot more foot traffic, probably in the last couple of weeks, of parents sending their kids to college. And they’re grabbing it (Naloxone) for their kids and saying, ‘Here you go, this is what we see.’ You know, like, we know this is out there, we want you to be safe. It’s like sending your kids to college with like, you know, Advil and Ibuprofen or whatever that might be,”' said Horn.
The fentanyl crisis constantly changes.
Law enforcement agencies are warning people about “purple fentanyl.”
It has been trending on local social media outlets after the Johnson County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office issued a warning on its Facebook page.
“I understand why our community is scared, and I’m really glad that everybody is paying attention,” said President and CEO of First Call, Emily Hage.
Hage says purple fentanyl is fentanyl that is dyed with purple coloring and is cut with lidocaine.
Lidocaine is a numbing medication and can cause heavier sedation during an overdose. It might also mix with the fentanyl and cause the overdose to look different for each person.
Lidocaine itself may be resistant to Narcan, but Hage wants people to know that Narcan is still the best line of defense against deadly opioids.
“The fentanyl is the life-threatening component of that drug,” said Hage. “We want people to err on the side of administering naloxone. It can’t hurt you. It doesn’t do any damage if in fact the person is not, doesn’t have any opioids in their system.”
In any opioid overdose situation, the most important thing to do is restore the person’s breathing. Administer naloxone, stabilize breathing, and call 911 immediately.
A spokesperson with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department says purple fentanyl is not new. Dealers have been coloring pills with different color dyes and cutting fentanyl with other substances for a long time.
It is all about marketing and brand recognition.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department says its detectives are seeing what is called carfentanil being dyed purple, which according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, is about 100 times more potent than the fentanyl typically used.
Deputy Chief Doug Niemeier spoke about the fentanyl crisis during the August 19th Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
“This fentanyl is not necessarily sourced out of Kansas City — it’s not produced here," Niemeier said. "It may have been transported from here. But what I would like to say to the public is — fentanyl is deadly. “Fentanyl is bad, whether it has lidocaine, xylazine as the cutter in it.”
Bottom line, all agree, no matter the color or the substance mixed, the commitment to fight against fentanyl must not change.
“We need to continue to be focused on the solutions, and not on, you know, the scary stuff,” said Hage.
