BLACKFOOT — The city of Blackfoot hosted a town hall meeting on Wednesday, where local leaders of varying professional backgrounds discussed fentanyl and its impact on the community in an effort to raise awareness of the fentanyl epidemic.

The town hall featured Blackfoot Police Chief Gordon Croft and Cpl. John Hay, Chief Deputy Jordyn Nebeker of the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, prosecutor Paul Rogers of the Bingham County Prosecutors Office, Lt. Patrick Park of the Blackfoot Fire Department, and Dr. Brian Hopkins of Bingham Memorial Hospital.

The speakers discussed the dangers of fentanyl and educated the public about the dangerous opioid and recent trends in its use. They also provided tips for how the community members can protect themselves and their loved ones from the drug.

“It’s an emotional topic for some, including me. I experienced inside of the family unit what addiction can do. It’s really easy to have that emotional side take over and have fear take over. When we have a problem, it’s really easy to look down and in on it and drive yourself crazy with it,” said Nebeker. “But down and in isn’t where we solve these kinds of problems. It’s when we stop, take a second and we look up and out. That’s exactly what’s happening here with everybody coming together.”

Nebeker said law enforcement isn’t going to be able to tackle the opioid problem on its own with traffic stops. The problem requires a “multi-faceted approach,” with all members of the community and different agencies working together.

Since Jan. 1 this year, there have been two drug-related deaths reported locally. There were two drug-related deaths in Blackfoot during the entirety of 2022, the speakers said on Wednesday. Park, who provides emergency medical services in Blackfoot, said EMS has responded to 28 overdose calls since Jan. 1, and has administered Narcan to 34 people so far this year.

The speakers discussed the need for people to educate themselves about Narcan and how to use it. They also talked about law enforcement’s frustrations with an increase in fentanyl discoveries during traffic stops because use of the drug is still prevalent.

“About five years ago was the first time I learned how to spell the word fentanyl,” Rogers said. “This went from being a methamphetamine-driven community where we saw a great uptick in methamphetamine, and then all of a sudden a few years ago, it switched over to fentanyl. It’s been extremely terrifying where they can find methamphetamine and also fentanyl in our communities. I know how this affects our community, so it’s so important that we try to deter it from being in our community.”

The event saw a pretty good showing of community engagement, with more than a dozen people listening online and in person. Many people had questions and the speakers seemed eager to engage in conversation about the opioid issue.

The speakers said they really wanted the community to understand what fentanyl is and how to identify its various forms and the way it presents in people who have ingested fentanyl or other illicit opioids. They urged people to get Narcan and not be afraid to administer it if they are in a situation where they think it will save a life.

While the people listening to the town hall were engaged in the discussion, Rogers said he is hoping people continue to educate themselves about the topic.

“After you get the education. you have to kind of be a nerd about it and make it a topic at dinner discussions and just get the word out about how important it is,” Rogers said to the community members at the town hall. “You guys are the ones that are actively seeking that information, but there are 46,000 other people in our county that are not, and so bringing awareness is an incredibly important thing and can be enough to strike people’s interest that they’ll go get educated as well.”