Submitted Photo Blue-tinged M-30 fentanyl pills were among 118 seized by the Berthold Police Department during a traffic stop on Jan. 12.

Among the flurry of bills and resolutions in the North Dakota Legislature in Bismarck is a proposed law that would require those convicted of possessing, manufacturing or delivering fentanyl to be sentenced to a minimum of one year in jail. It would introduce new requirements for reporting on fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths.

Senate Bill 2248 is sponsored by Sen. David Hogue of District 38 and co-sponsored by Rep. Scott Louser of District 5, both Minot. Hogue said the legislation is primarily motivated by concerns over the appearances of a revolving door for certain repeat fentanyl offenders, along with a desire for authorities to have a better grasp on data and statistics for fentanyl-related deaths.

“It’s about trying to get enough data to say, ‘Folks, this is how big this problem is.’ Compared to last year, this problem is getting bigger,” Hogue said. “Over a two-year period, we’ve seen pretty significant growth in overdose deaths. I don’t know what we’re not capturing, but I’m trying to see if we do capture all of them.”

According to the provisional drug overdose death data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Jan. 1, North Dakota has reported 142 overdose deaths between August 2021 and August 2022. Data provided by the Department of Health’s Violent Death Reporting System (NDVDRS) shows overdose cases have been steadily increasing year to year in North Dakota, jumping from 76 in 2019 to 131 overdose deaths statewide in 2021. In that same year, the state saw 101 traffic fatalities.

The NDVDRS collects and consolidates data from a variety of primary sources, including death certificates, coroner and crime lab reports to provide a comprehensive picture of the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths. According to information provided by the health department, each of the last three years has seen more than 70 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in North Dakota, accounting for well over 50% of the deaths tracked by the system.

Even as these statistics are alarming for law enforcement and state officials, they come couched with an asterisk acknowledging that a significant number of overdose deaths go unreported, which could mean the actual numbers are much higher.

“Overall, we just don’t have good data to tell us how many of our citizens, our people within the state, are dying from drug overdoses that are connected to fentanyl or even opioid-addicted folks,” Hogue said. “I’ve been getting some anecdotal information from around Bismarck, Mandan overdoses, and they’re pretty substantial.”

Hogue called law enforcement around Bismarck and Mandan for overdose data, determining that Burleigh County on its own reported 134 overdoses and 20 overdose deaths in 2022. For context, in 2017 Burleigh County reported 22 total overdoses and only one overdose death. Unfortunately, Hogue said, his attempts to clear up the muddle has been hindered by some gaps in procedure and how some deaths are ultimately reported.

“We just don’t have the data. I asked Dave Krabbenhoft, the director of the Department of Corrections. They don’t have data. I asked Ladd Erickson, the senior state’s attorney out of McLean County, and he points out that it is hit and miss,” Hogue said. “For a variety of reasons, depending on who gets called to the scene, they don’t always do an autopsy. They don’t always do any type of forensic draw on the decedent. So, you are left to wonder. The purpose of my bill is to ask that if they suspect it, we want to report it.”

Hogue feels the state is at a pivotal juncture in the fentanyl crisis, a moment he finds reminiscent of the Legislature’s flashpoint response after a number of high profile and tragic DUI fatalities, which put mandatory minimums in place for repeat offenders. Hogue said he observed what he characterized as a “revolving door” for some repeat fentanyl offenders whose sentences were often deferred or suspended, which he and his fellow bill sponsors felt was untenable given the lethality of the synthetic drug.

One reality that Hogue acknowledged was causing judges to suspend incarceration for some defendants is the lack of room in the state penitentiary and regional jails. Most prosecutors and defense counsel contacted by Hogue felt the current mandatory minimums do little to dissuade addicted people from reoffending, even for a substance considered by law enforcement to be a “drug of death.”

“They say, ‘no matter how severe you make the sentence, it’s not going to deter them.’ I come at it from the standpoint of part of incarceration is not just deterrence, but it’s actually protection of the public,” Hogue said. “You put a violent offender in jail because you’re trying to protect the public. It’s such a lethal substance in terms of people abusing and dying, or selling it to others who die. That’s my angle.”