OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Downtown Omaha neighborhood reporter Molly Hudson spoke with the Douglas County Corrections Director because she learned that fentanyl is a growing challenge in the jail.
He told Molly the drug is getting smaller and more challenging to detect and they are trying to find a solution fast because he says a lethal dose could be the equivalent of just 10 to 20 grains of salt.
- 18 months ago, the jail equipped all officers with Narcan.
- It's been used on 13 people since January.
- Michael Myers, corrections director for the county, says they are looking at purchasing additional technology to detect different substances to protect the facility and everyone in it.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In these halls, security equals safety.
That's why corrections officers use a variety of techniques to check new inmates for dangerous things like weapons or drugs.
"We switched from selective strip searching of people when they were booked in, based upon their history and charges, to now everybody who is booked in is strip-searched," said Michael Myers, director of corrections for Douglas County.
Everyone passes through a body scanner and drug-detecting dogs are brought in from time to time to sniff out trouble.
But Corrections Director Michael Myers admits there is still a chance fentanyl is missed.
That's because it's getting harder to detect.
"This can be just ground to a small amount of a fine powder and that can be pretty difficult to detect even with all of our measures that are in place," Myers said.
18 months ago, the jail equipped all officers with Narcan.
It's been used on 13 people since January when the department started keeping track.
Myers says so far nobody has had a fatal overdose.
"We are fortunate that we have been able to not have those outcomes up to this point, but the problem does seem to be coming more prevalent," Myers said.
Making things harder, the drug is getting more potent.
"We have at times had to administer 4, 5 or 6 doses to a single person, while they are en route to emergency medical care because the drug is outlasting the antidote," Myers said.
Myers warns the problem isn't just on the inside saying it impacts neighborhoods across the metro.
"Anything that we all can do to promote recovery, sobriety, and education about the dangerousness of this particular substance is critical to our society and our community overcoming this threat," Myers said.
Myers says they are looking at purchasing additional technology to detect different substances to protect the facility and everyone in it as the threat continues.
