Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter sat down with Eyewitness News Anchor and Right Now Host Michael Schwanke to discuss the fentanyl crisis and its impact on Wichita, Sedgwick County and the state of Kansas.

It’s a situation that’s happening in every day. Young people are dying from synthetic fentanyl and often, they didn’t mean to take it.

As Kansas sees a spike in deaths related to fentanyl overdoses one of the public health tools advocates are pushing for is a thin strip of paper.

Without help, someone overdosing on fentanyl will die. But, there is a life-saving medication.

The family of 16-year-old Cooper Davis talked about how close they were and what he meant to them as they also convey a message that they hope can keep others from having to grieve a life taken too soon.

Fentanyl Crisis in Kansas

Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 Americans last year. Two-thirds of those deaths involved fentanyl.

It continues to be a growing problem nationally and here in Kansas.

A push for more awareness comes as the prevalence of fentanyl swells in Sedgwick County and across Kansas.