Van Orden, area sheriffs, warn of fentanyl spike

Leader-Telegram - 1/27/2022

Jan. 27—ALTOONA — State Rep. Jesse James held up a small baggie of flour at a press conference Thursday, explaining that if the bag had been filled with fentanyl instead, it would be powerful enough to kill everyone in the room.

The rise of fentanyl in western Wisconsin has led to a spike in overdoses, agreed the law enforcement officials and politicians who spoke at the Republican Party headquarters in Altoona.

"We know, right now, the number one killer of 18-49 year-old adults isn't guns, suicides or alcohol abuse," James said. "This is the reality of what we're facing; one pill kills."

James said many people are buying fentanyl pills, thinking it is a different drug, such as Percocet or Xanex. Instead, they are overdosing on fentanyl.

"Synthetic pills are the big one. They are cheap," said James, who is a former Altoona Police Chief. "We're seeing more and more of this being shipped here. It is hitting us here in Wisconsin."

Earlier this week, both the state Assembly and Senate approved bills that would legalize fentanyl testing strips. A drug user could test the drug they are about to take and make sure there isn't fentanyl mixed with it. Currently, the test strips are considered drug paraphernalia and are illegal in Wisconsin; this measure would change that.

"It doesn't say the quantity or quality of the fentanyl, it just says fentanyl is present," James said.

James is optimistic that Gov. Tony Evers will sign the bill next month.

Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer said he believes the region needs another DEA agent to help with combating the growing fentanyl crisis.

The legislators and law enforcement were in agreement that the drugs are coming in to the United States from Mexico.

"It's hard for us to believe the cartel in Mexico affects us here in western Wisconsin, but it does," Cramer said. "It looks like Percocet or some other prescription drug, and that's really dangerous."

Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd said his agency is no longer coming across active meth labs in the area; instead, drugs are coming from outside the region.

"Our meth is coming to us in pounds from the Twin Cities," Bygd said. "We can link most of our property crimes we solve to meth and fentanyl."

St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said his jail is filled with people addicted to drugs who immediately go back to using as soon as they get out.

"It breaks up families, it changes outlooks," Knudson said. "We need to find where it's coming from and cut it off, as best we can."

Derrick Van Orden, a Republican running for the open 3rd Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat Ron Kind, met with law enforcement officials and James for about an hour to discuss their concerns with fentanyl. Van Orden said he went to the U.S.-Mexico border two weeks ago and talked with law enforcement there about the rise of fentanyl coming through illegal border crossings. Van Orden said about 2 million people illegally crossed the border last year, and he was critical of President Joe Biden for not doing enough to secure the border.

"The war on drugs has moved from Columbia and the 'Golden Triangle' to Eau Claire, and it's got to stop," Van Orden said.

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