Fentanyl Seized in Manitowoc County in 2020
Drug use in Manitowoc County has been changing.
Lieutenant Dave Remiker with Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit spoke on WOMT’s Be My Guest last Friday to discuss the shift from heroin use to fentanyl.
“Fentanyl, to me, is the scariest thing we have in the community, (and) by far the most significant health and safety threat,” he said bluntly. “I always say, the obituaries don’t lie. In our community, we are almost seeing one overdose death per week.”
He informs that even a small dose of fentanyl can drastically damage the person who takes it.
Along with this, they have also been seeing a recent increase in the amount of child-related drug endangerment.
Remiker describes that Manitowoc County Metro Drug works closely with Drug Endangered Children (DEC) and Child Protective Services (CPS) in family cases like these.
When this happens, the unit will provide CPS with information on the case that they can use to identify the best course of action like creating safety plans with the children or taking temporary physical custody to keep the children in a safe environment.
“It’s hard to watch. It isn’t fair to these kids to live in this environment. They don’t have a choice,” he said. “Probably the biggest excuse or statement I hear from parents all the time is ‘I don’t use in front of my kids,’ or ‘They don’t go in that room’. That’s their justification.”
Remiker also said that he believes “animals protect their young better than some parents do…That’s based on the experiences I’ve had over the past 30 years.”
