Town hall Tuesday to help combat illegal drugs including fentanyl

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Across the country and in Idaho, law enforcement agencies are reporting an increase in drug and drug trafficking cases. They are especially seeing an uptick in cases involving fentanyl. In working with the community and law enforcement, Governor Brad Little hopes to combat the flow of illegal drugs into Idaho.

As part of this effort, citizens are invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting Tuesday, Oct. 25 beginning at 6 p.m. in the Pocatello City Council Chambers.

This event is an opportunity for the public to express their expectations of the Governor’s Task Force and recommend possible solutions. The event will discuss the effects fentanyl and other drugs have on communities and the trends the public is observing. This meeting is to define the problem, provide education to the public and set the table for future discussion.

Local officials from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, City of Chubbuck Police Department, Health West, Portneuf Health Trust, Portneuf Medical Center, School District 25, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Southeast Idaho Behavioral Crisis Center, Southeastern Idaho Public Health, and ISU Kasiska Division of Health Science will be present to discuss how to combat illegal drugs.

Pocatello Police have seen an increase in deaths, overdoses and arrests for drugs in the area.

“We are definitely seeing an increase in drug use across the city, especially when it comes to fentanyl, and we want to get in-front of it before more people get hurt,” said Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei. “This drug can be very dangerous and we want to get important information about its dangers to the community, to help save lives.”