BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Attorney General Daniel Cameron will hold an “Operation Fight Fentanyl” forum in Inez.

Operation Fight Fentanyl aims to combat the opioid crisis by hearing from residents directly impacted by illicit fentanyl.

Cameron invites residents to join him April 13 from 1-3 p.m. at the Martin County Library.

The attorney general will be joined by a panel and wants to hear from stakeholders and community members regarding the impact of fentanyl and possible solutions to this crisis.

This will be the sixth event held by Cameron to push back against the opioid epidemic.

Cameron previously held Operation Fight Fentanyl events in Greenup, Kenton, Pendleton, Whitley and Simpson counties.

Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest report, nearly 70,000 people died from an overdose of synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, in the 12-month period ending in August 2022. In 2021, Kentucky lost 2,250 people to overdose death and fentanyl was detected in more than 70% of these cases.

Last year, Cameron secured over $842 million in settlement funds from pharmacies, distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers of opioids for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic. House Bill 427 calls for 50% of these funds to be distributed to local governments. The other 50% will go to the state, with those funds being administered by the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.

In September, Attorney General Cameron joined a bipartisan coalition of 18 attorneys general in urging President Biden to classify fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. In February, he joined 21 attorneys general in asking the administration to designate certain Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Earlier this month, he sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland expressing his grave concern that the Biden Administration is mishandling the opioid crisis.