Police to host opioid awareness meeting

The Kalispell Police Department and STOP Prescription Drug Abuse in the Flathead Coalition will hold a town hall meeting at Red Lion Hotel Thursday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.

The meeting will focus on opioid addiction, featuring a video produced by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration called “Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict” followed by a community discussion with a panel of experts. FBI and DEA agents will join the panel of experts from several professions that deal with drug addiction first hand.

The use and abuse of opioids has risen to epidemic levels, both nationally and locally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC defines opioids as prescription drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, methadone and fentanyl, and illicit drugs such as heroin.

According to the CDC, the U.S. saw more than 28,000 opioid-related deaths in 2014, and that number rose to more than 33,000 in 2015.

Police Chief Roger Nasset said Flathead Valley has also experienced a rise in opioid-related deaths.

“Drug addictions affect entire communities, not just the users,” Nasset said in a press release. “Locally, we are seeing other crimes, mostly theft-related, increase with this epidemic.”

The Thursday meeting is free and open to the public. The Red Lion is located at 20 N. Main St., Kalispell.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.