Fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid, has become increasingly prevalent and cheap in Utah, state law enforcement officials told lawmakers.

During a Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee meeting on Monday, lawmakers were shown “alarming data” from members of the Utah Department of Public Safety — with Tanner Jensen, the director of the statewide information and analysis center at the Department of Public Safety, calling fentanyl “the greatest drug threat in Utah.”

The findings included that in the last few years:

• Fentanyl has increasingly turned up in seizures. From 2018 to 2021, a total of 496,870 doses of fentanyl were seized by Utah law enforcement. In 2022, Utah law enforcement reported 1,485,355 doses seized, more than double what was seized in the four previous years, combined.
• Fentanyl has seen a steady decline in black market prices. State data suggests one fentanyl pill cost between $25 to $30 in 2018. Now, the price for a single does is around $2.
• Fentanyl has fueled overdose deaths. The drug accounted for 8% of overdose deaths in 2018. By 2022, 33% of overdose deaths were from fentanyl, surpassing prescription drugs and heroin and second only to methamphetamine as the deadliest drug in the state.

The flow of fentanyl stems from criminal groups and drug cartels in Mexico, said Bill Newell, a drug intelligence officer for the Department of Public Safety. And Utah, because of how it’s positioned in the Mountain West with two major interstates passing through, is a hotbed for drug smuggling.

Poll: Gen Z has little trust in the news, Congress and the presidency

Gen Z expressed low trust in Congress, the news media, the presidency and large tech companies, according to a new survey from Gallup and Walton Family Foundation.

The survey asked 3,114 members of Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2011) whether they had very little, some, quite a lot or a great deal of trust in institutions like the military, police, the Supreme Court and others. 

Among respondents, 50% said they had very little trust in Congress and 46% said they had very little trust in the presidency. Trust in the Supreme Court fared slightly better, with 38% of respondents saying they had very little trust.

Of the institutions listed, Gen Z expressed the highest amount of trust in “science,” with 36% saying they had a great deal of trust, 35% saying they had quite a lot of trust, 22% saying they had some trust and 6% saying they had very little trust.

Party lines accounted for some differences, but neither Gen Z Republicans or Democrats had high overall trust in the majority of institutions.

Read more about how Gen Z feels about police, the military and tech companies. 

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Photo of the Week

BYU Cougars defensive end Michael Daley (45) celebrates the win over the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. BYU won 38-31. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

Read more about how last week's games changed bowl eligibility for BYU, Utah and Utah State.