LCF Alumni Association Leadership Lunch Series Topic: “Laced and Lethal” Alumni Attendee Feedback, by Robert Bernstein

As Collier County residents, most of us know that our county is the top-ranked “Safest Place to Live” according to U.S. News and World Report. On Thursday, May 16, 2024, leadership luncheon attendees had the opportunity to learn what Sheriff Kevin Rambosk (LC ’03) and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office are doing to help maintain that level of safety and to combat the fentanyl crisis impacting the United States.

What is fentanyl? As Sheriff Rambosk explained, it is a synthetic opioid that is typically prescribed by doctors to treat pain. However, a mere 2 grains of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose. With those potentially lethal doses of fentanyl being unknowingly mixed into other drugs, it is no wonder that we are facing the worst drug epidemic in United States history.

Further complicating the problem was that nobody in the U.S. had a comprehensive program for addressing this epidemic. Sheriff Rambosk and our Collier County deputies put together a program from scratch, which other agencies from around the country are now seeking to emulate. The keys to the program are to: (1) educate children and teens on the dangers of fentanyl, (2) spread awareness throughout the community on what is out there and what we can do, (3) drug enforcement strategies and (4) exposure control for our public safety professionals doing their jobs.

Luncheon attendees also had the benefit of watching a live demonstration on how to use Naloxone (Narcan). Narcan is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. Boxes of Narcan were available from the Collier County Health Department at the luncheon for each attendee to take to keep in their home and business first aid kit.

Although the topic of discussion was a bit daunting, the event was informative and fit right into Collier County’s program of spreading awareness.

Thank you to Sheriff Rambosk, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, and all of those who were able to attend.

For more information go to: https://www.colliersheriff.org/community-resources/fentanyl-resources