The state police of Oregon are ordering their officers to stop field testing drug samples due to the increased threat posed by the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
The shift in their longstanding policy comes after the Drug Enforcement Administration encouraged law enforcement bodies throughout the country in June to consider phasing out field testing of narcotics and to arm officers with better protective equipment. Fentanyl is a synthetic painkiller roughly 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine that can be fatal in small doses to people who come into contact with it, reports Oregon Live.
Officials worry that the end of field testing will significantly impact criminal cases involving drug possession charges. Field test results are often critical to making an arrest and handing down formal charges. Without it, state persecutors say they will have to rely on the state crime lab, which is already backlogged and can take several weeks to perform a chemical analysis.
Representatives with the Oregon State Police say the decision is ultimately about protecting the health of first responders due to the “rapidly evolving threat” posed by synthetic opioids.
“This was simply a risk mitigation decision to protect our employees (and) their family members that may come in contact with their uniforms and the citizens that may accidentally be exposed to fentanyl during an attempted roadside test,” State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton told Oregon Live.
Fentanyl overtook heroin as the deadliest substance in the U.S. in 2016, claiming 19,413 lives last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The DEA issued new guidance to police departments across the country in June on how to handle heroin and other narcotics due to the increasing prevalence of fentanyl. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein warned that it only takes two milligrams of fentanyl, “the equivalent of a few grains of table salt,” to cause a fatal overdose.
Nationally, drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under age 50, killing 63,600 people in 2016.
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