Kevin Kufeldt with Governor Laura Kelly

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than morphine, is responsible for nearly 70% of opioid-related deaths in the United States. Many of those deaths are caused by people unknowingly ingesting a lethal dose of fentanyl-laced medications. Among the 81 opioid-related deaths in Johnson County in 2022, 73 – or 90% – were ruled accidental by the Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Then, in April, the federal government issued a warning about a surge of overdose deaths caused by xylazine, an animal tranquilizer not approved for human use that further increases the potency of illicitly-manufactured fentanyl pills and resists tools like Narcan that can reverse the effects of an overdose and save lives. The designation of xylazine as an emerging threat is an unprecedented step that marks an escalation in the opioid and fentanyl crisis that is already the deadliest drug threat in the country’s history.

“What once was people using drugs who at least knew what they were taking and had some idea of the dangers and health effects has now become unsuspecting users dying of an overdose or poisoning because they didn’t know they were putting such a high-potency drug in their system,” Kufeldt said.

While the information he shares can be harrowing, Kufeldt sees hope in the caring, engaged community he has encountered through his presentations, as well as the clinicians, case managers and other treatment and prevention service providers working on the front lines of the opioid crisis in Johnson County.

Over the past year, JCMHC has mobilized the community and led the formation of the new Johnson County Prevention and Recovery Coalition. The coalition includes over 150 community advocates from various backgrounds, including treatment providers, public health officials, first responders, school officials and parents who have lived experience losing a child to an overdose.

JCMHC also received provisional certification as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic in the past year. About 75% of clients seeking substance use treatment through JCMHC have a co-occurring mental health condition like depression or anxiety. Kufeldt says the whole-health, whole-person approach of the CCBHC model will help clients more easily access coordinated mental health and substance use treatment.

What else can Johnson County residents do to help? Kufeldt says fighting back against the stigma still attached to substance use and addiction will encourage more people to ask for help and, ultimately, support their recovery journey.

“We have to treat addiction like we would any other medical condition, from a broken bone to a chronic condition like diabetes or high blood pressure because that’s what it is,” Kufeldt said. “We have to provide people with that same level of care and compassion.”