Johnson County has a fentanyl problem.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office estimates that over 1,200 Kansans have been killed by fentanyl in the last decade. In the last six years, over 200 Johnson Countians have overdosed on fentanyl and died. Over 50% of the teenagers entering the Adolescent Center for Treatment have reported using opioids and the reported age of first use has dropped from 17 years old down to 12 or 13 years old. Simply put, we are dealing with an epidemic. Fentanyl is a drug that is roughly 50 times stronger than heroin and is so lethal that even a small amount can cause an overdose.

I am often asked why I’m running for District Attorney and the answer is very simple: I’m running to proactively combat the fentanyl epidemic. The fentanyl epidemic is the single biggest public health and public safety issue in America right now.

Effectively fighting this drug requires an all-encompassing approach that breaks up the demand for the drug with treatment for addicts, and breaks up the supply chain with aggressive prosecution of the drug dealers who are making money off of the addiction and deaths of so many people. Unlike the current District Attorney, who fought tooth and nail against the creation of a drug court, I understand the importance of using that as another tool in the toolbox to fight drug addiction. As District Attorney, I won’t be afraid to charge hard cases, because the alternative is doing nothing.

I’m running for District Attorney because I’m the candidate with the experience prosecuting these cases and the vision for how to combat the epidemic. I won’t just sit by and do nothing while fentanyl destroys a generation of people, but will proactively work to educate our teenagers, rehabilitate addicts, and prosecute the drug dealers who are killing people.

That’s why it’s time for change.

DG