Increases access to fentanyl tests and naloxone amid Biden-Harris border policy

HELENA, MT – Governor Greg Gianforte on Aug 16th, announced an investment of up to $400,000 to provide low cost, life-saving resources across the state to respond to the fentanyl and opioid crisis brought about by the Biden-Harris border policy.As recommended by the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations (BHSFG) Commission, the investment represents the next allocation of $300 million in funding secured by the governor last year to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health (BH) and developmental disabilities (DD) services systems.

“Montana continues to be hard hit as a result of the Biden-Harris border policy, which has invited drug cartels to overrun the United States,” Gov. Gianforte said. “While Biden and Harris sit on their hands, Montana is taking action to save lives and protect Montanans from drug overdoses. I’m grateful to the Commission for this life-saving recommendation.”

The one-time funding will be used to install 24 Wellness Kiosks throughout the state, which will dispense and distribute fentanyl testing strips and naloxone. The kiosks will be strategically placed at community-based programs such as Projects for Assistance in Transition to Homelessness and Drop-in Centers. Both programs are low barrier access points to behavioral health treatment and offer individualized supports.

The initiative aims to combat an alarming rise in fentanyl and opioid overdoses.

In 2022, Montana saw 95 fentanyl overdoses, the highest on record. Prior to 2020, the state averaged about eight deaths per year. In 2023, there were 123 fatal opioid overdoses in Montana, the highest number since DPHHS began tracking the statistic in 2009. In the same year, there were 93 fatal fentanyl overdoses, the second highest during the same timeframe.

Additionally, there were 969 opioid overdose-related 911 responses by ground-transporting EMS agencies in 2023, or an average of 81 per month. Naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdose, was utilized to assist patients in approximately 40 percent of those cases. 81 percent of patients who received naloxone had improved responses.

“Naloxone has proven to be remarkably effective in reversing opioid overdoses,” Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Charlie Brereton said. “However, this tool has been underutilized in Montana to date. Our cost-effective, proactive initiative will expand access to naloxone with the ultimate goal of saving lives.”

The kiosks will also be equipped with testing strips capable of detecting fentanyl in a variety of drugs. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Rocky Mountain Field Division, more than 3 million fentanyl pills were seized in 2023, a 78 percent year-over-year increase, in the region that includes Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming.

Since President Biden took office in January 2021, over 10 million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Governor Gianforte has taken several steps in response to the Biden administration’s failure to secure the border:

• Gov. Gianforte led a group of 25 governors to demand answers from the President on who is entering the country illegally and where they are relocating. The governors have yet to receive a response.
  
  
• Gov. Gianforte joined the American Governors’ Border Strike Force, a collaborative effort established among 26 states to secure the border. Among other focuses, the strike force is working to improve coordination and communication to combat the trafficking of illegal drugs.
  
  
• Gov. Gianforte increased penalties for drug trafficking, including the trafficking of fentanyl, and increased penalties for human trafficking. Since 2019, Montana has experienced an 11,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures. Since 2015, the Montana Department of Justice has tracked an 871 percent increase in human trafficking cases in Montana.
  
  
• Gov. Gianforte deployed Montana National Guard troops to the southern border to support Customs and Border Protection officers, and to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.

On May 22, 2023, Gov. Gianforte made a generational investment to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities services systems by signing House Bill 872 into law. A central component of the governor’s Budget for Montana Families, the $300 million investment will expand intensive and community-based behavioral health care and developmental disabilities services across Montana.

More information about the commission and its work may be found on the here.