Fentanyl Has Made It To The Mountain West And Its Death Toll Is Rising

Boise State Public Radio News | By Madelyn Beck

Published August 26, 2021 at 1:11 PM MDT

Andrea Thomas sits in her office, holding a picture of her daughter Ashley Romero and her grandson. Ashley died from fentanyl poisoning in 2018 at the age of 32.

Fatal drug overdoses are skyrocketing, driven by synthetic opioids like fentanyl. And that potentially deadly drug has made it to the Mountain West – the last part of the U.S. to face the brunt of the opioid crisis.

Madelyn Beck

Madelyn Beck is Boise State Public Radio's regional reporter with the Mountain West News Bureau. She's from Montana but has reported everywhere from North Dakota to Alaska to Washington, D.C. Her last few positions included covering energy resources in Wyoming and reporting on agriculture/rural life issues in Illinois.

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