Colorado Springs Police Department launches campaign about dangers of fentanyl

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- The fentanyl crisis is affecting different parts of the county, including Colorado Springs. In response, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is now launching a campaign over the next 5 weeks to educate the public on the dangers of fentanyl.

Colorado Springs Police Chief, Adrian Vasquez, wanted to launch this campaign because he thinks it's important to educate the public about fentanyl.

"We want people to understand that one pill can kill. We want people to understand that this is a public safety issue, not just a law enforcement issue," said Caitlin Ford, Public Communication Specialist at Colorado Springs Police Department.

According to CSPD, at the end of February last year, there were 10 reported overdoses in Colorado Springs, and 8 of them were fentanyl-related. 

We're learning there were 13 overdoses in Colorado Springs from January to the end of February 2023. But, CSPD said It's too early to tell if those are fentanyl-related.

Colorado Springs Police told KRDO the biggest danger of fentanyl is that it can look like anything, adding you never know what is in any drug that's not from a legitimate pharmacy. 

"They can put it in something that's dissolvable, that can be on paper that people are going to be smoking with. They can press it into pills that look like things as Oxycodone or Percocet or Adderall, and they can even put it into powder," said Ford.

Colorado Springs Police are hoping these videos help educate the public and help decrease the number of overdose deaths happening here in the city.

To watch the videos, click here.