BILLINGS — It was an easy call for Gov. Greg Gianforte to join in on the Angel Initiative to help those in need with substance abuse.
“This provides a safe harbor for them,” Gianforte said in a recent interview with MTN News.
The initiative is to give those who struggle with substance abuse a safe place to walk into a law enforcement facility with their drugs or paraphernalia with no legal trouble.
Watch officials talk about the Angel Initiative and the concerns of drugs on the streets:
“We want to get people that are trapped in addiction the help they need,” Gianforte said.
Gianforte said that the program is a partnership between law enforcement, the state health department, and drug treatment centers.
Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said that they are involved as the first step of the program.
“They may have small user amounts of drugs, or they may have paraphernalia or something and say, ‘I just need to get rid of this’,” Linder said. “We would tell them that we would accept that. We wouldn't charge them with that possession.”
Linder said that help is available around the clock.
“There needs to be some place where they can go to. We're open 24-7, 365,” Linder said.
Linder said that they can help get people on the program when officers are in the field.
“If they need a ride, we will provide that. If they just need to talk to somebody and help them determine what their next path is or what their next step is, we will help facilitate that as well,” Linder said.
Drug Intelligence Officer Will Janisch said drug seizures went up over the course of five years, but this year, progress is being made.
“This year for the first two quarters we seized about 45,000 dosage units, which is down 74% from this time last year,” Janisch said.
It’s all part of an emphasis to get fentanyl off the streets.
“It's extremely addictive it's extremely dangerous,” Janisch said. “It's great to see that we're finally seeing a drop in the amount of fentanyl is coming to state. But the problem is one fentanyl pill is all it takes to kill someone or cause an overdose.”
Those dangers aren’t disappearing as law enforcement reports a new strain of the drug.
“We've already had 13 samples at our state crime lab come back this year positive for carfentanil,” Janisch said. “That was designed for animals like elephants and hippos.”
Linder warns the public to stay vigilant.
“If there's anything that even they suspect to be in fentanyl, it is so dangerous that even just getting it on your skin can be fatal,” Linder said.
