Highway Patrol trains fentanyl detection dogs

As overdose deaths connected to fentanyl continue to rise both in Wyoming and across the nation, Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) has taken proactive steps to detect the illicit substance.

On Thursday, WHP announced that a total of ten canine teams across the state have now been trained and certified to detect fentanyl, a manmade opioid that is used in prescription form to treat patients with severe pain.

The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) sounded the alarm about the growing number of overdose deaths in October.

"This drug is nothing short of frightening when used illegally," said WDH Director Stefan Johansson at that time.

"What increases the level of danger is that people using drugs can be unaware that a synthetic opioid has been added to a drug they have bought or been given to use. They don't know the fentanyl is there and the results are sometimes tragic."

According to WDH information, illicitly manufactured fentanyl is spread through criminal drug markets, is extremely potent and is frequently added to other drugs to make them cheaper and more powerful.

"Because fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, it can also be more addictive and clearly more dangerous," said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer.

Training canines to detect the substance is a process that WHP describes as "long, careful and deliberate". The first fentanyl-detection canine in Wyoming was certified in July, 2022 and the safety and success of the pioneering effort led the agency to expand the program to the rest of its narcotic detection canine handler teams.

"We began this training with the safety of our canine officers and their handlers first and foremost. This has been an extensive process, requiring time and resources from many companies to ensure the process is safe," states a press release from WHP.

"The results have been overwhelmingly positive, with no incidents occurring that have endangered our canine partners or handlers throughout this training process."

Nine additional canine teams across the state were certified last week in what WHP has hailed a "significant milestone". Five were purchased using federal grant funds through the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

Overall overdose deaths have increased over the past couple of years, which Harrist said, "Is partially due to an increase in synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths. In fact, between 2018 and 2021, the number of synthetic opioid-involved fatal overdoses among residents of our state more than quadrupled while the deaths connected with most other opioids stayed relatively stable."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, it can be difficult to recognize an opioid overdose. If unsure, assume this is the case and seek medical care for the person.

Signs of an overdose can include "pinpoint pupils", falling asleep or loss of consciousness, slow and shallow breathing, choking or gurgling sounds, a limp body and pale, blue or cold skin.