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A Fentanyl Forum, hosted by the Broken Arrow Police Department will be held on Thursday, July 14, at the Broken Arrow Chamber, 210 N. Main St., at 6 p.m. A livestream of the forum will be available at Facebook.com/BrokenArrowPolice.
Fentanyl is an emerging threat across Oklahoma, and overdoses from the drug are on the rise in Broken Arrow.
Even in trace amounts, fentanyl can cause overdoses when inhaled or ingested.
A Fentanyl Forum, hosted by the Broken Arrow Police Department will be held on Thursday, July 14, at the Broken Arrow Chamber, 210 N. Main St., at 6 p.m.
Drug overdose deaths far exceed vehicular and firearm fatalities in the state. A leading cause of overdoses is fentanyl which is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
Last year, the Broken Arrow Police Department responded to 184 overdose calls in all of 2021. Now, seven months into 2022, officers have already responded to more than 117 overdose calls.
“Overdoses associated with Fentanyl have become common in our communities,” Broken Arrow Police Chief Brandon Berryhill said. “I wanted to assemble a group of subject matter experts to create awareness of the issue. We can make a difference if we work collectively to make our communities safer.”
At the forum, five experts will discuss the issues related to Fentanyl abuse and answer questions from those in attendance and online.
The panel will be moderated by Broken Arrow Police Department’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Ethan Hutchins.
Panel members include:
- Chief Brandon Berryhill BAPD
- Sgt. Eric Nester, Narcan Instructor for BAPD and an expert on dealing with overdose victims
- Dr. Cory Kebert, M.D., Ascension St. John Hospital Broken Arrow
- Director Donnie Anderson Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
- Asst. Fire Chief Mark Steward Broken Arrow Fire Department
Area agencies working with addiction diversion will also be in attendance, providing additional information. A livestream of the forum will be available at Facebook.com/BrokenArrowPolice.
“I hope this will bring awareness to the issue and give parents and family members assistance with helping those with this addiction,” Berryhill said.
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