Nassau County ramps up battle against fentanyl, rolls out Narcan kits in very visible places
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- The deadly drug fentanyl is turning up in a growing number of counterfeit pills, and now you will begin to see evidence of a crisis inside government buildings across Long Island.
On Monday, Nassau County rolled out Narcan kits in very visible locations.
"If only seeing me cry would make a young kid say I'm not going to mess with drugs," Carole Trottere said.
Trottere knows it will take more than tears to stop the deadly fentanyl crisis that killed her son, Alex. It's why she joined Nassau County lawmakers to announce a step to make the scourge more visible and treatable.
"We will be doing this all over the county," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.
READ MORE: Shocking overdoses at New Jersey mall shines a spotlight on the Tri-State Area's fentanyl crisis
Sixty Narcan kits will be deployed across the county in government buildings and parks where there are defibrillators -- another kind of life saver used to counter the lethal effects of a poison put into counterfeit pills and other illicit drugs.
"You're talking about college kids maybe on spring break. Someone need to stay up late to study for a test. Hey, do you have an Adderall I could have? Could I have a Xanax or Percocet. These pills will kill you with one pill," Trottere said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration says fentanyl is now in 6 out of 10 counterfeit pills. One of them was ingested by 19-year-old honor student Paige Gibbons.
"She was with a couple of girls who decided that they would try a Percocet and they only took a tiny nibble," said Corinne Kaufman, Gibbons' grandmother.
After Gibbons' death months ago, her grandmother is working to have fentanyl testing strips and education in every middle and high school.
"Narcan with fentanyl detection strips in every Narcan kit and every school nurse has this," Kaufman said.
"One pill can kill," Syosset High School junior Sophie Sherman said.
Sherman is teaching fellow students, while Trottere is urging family discussions.
"They can't be just fooling around one time, let me just try this. Those days are over," Trottere said.
While training is advised, in an emergency Narcan kits come with instructions. The point of putting it in so many locations is it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
In Nassau, there were 190 fentanyl poisoning deaths in 2021.
