Daily Herald opinion: Three bills addressing fentanyl scourge worth passing

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Fentanyl is an FDA-approved drug that has been used to treat severe pain, often as a result of surgery, for six decades.

It's also become the greatest danger on the black market. Opioids are responsible for 70% of drug overdose deaths, and the subset of fentanyl-related deaths is rising rapidly.

Fentanyl is between 50 and 100 times as potent as morphine, and it's relatively inexpensive, making it a popular additive to or replacement for such illicit drugs as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine as well as less hard-core so-called party drugs - to make them more potent and more addictive.

And just a minute amount of it can kill you.

The most insidious thing about fentanyl is that it is difficult to tell whether it is present in whatever it is you or your children or grandchildren are being offered. Those who make and sell illicit drugs want return customers, but that's about where their caring ends.

In this case, one youthful mistake at a concert or a party can prove fatal.

The Illinois General Assembly is considering a trio of bills aimed at attacking the problem, and together they make a lot of sense.

House Bill 1557 seeks to require for-profit music venues with an occupancy of at least 1,000 to have staff members equipped with and trained to use naloxone to reverse drug overdoses.

Think of your youth and the new experiences that awaited or were thrust upon you, especially at concerts when parental oversight tends to be low. Even straight-laced kids can make stupid decisions.

Having someone on hand who can respond quickly with an antidote could prevent needless overdoses.

The bill won overwhelming support from the House, and the Senate Public Health Committee favors it.

House Bill 3924 calls for all high school students to take a health course to learn about the dangers of fentanyl, its effects and how it's used to lace or replace other illicit drugs or counterfeit prescriptions.

And House Bill 1151 seeks to expand access to fentanyl test strips, so that you can tell whether it's present in whatever you've bought.

Some will say good people don't take illicit drugs and addressing it this way enables users.

Some will say that requiring kids to learn about fentanyl in school is government overreach and something their kids should not be subjected to.

That's nonsense.

Fentanyl already is in schools.

Keeping kids in the dark about it won't keep them away from it. But giving them the tools to know what it is, what it can do and how to detect it is sure to save lives.

"Our work to address this crisis is not over," said State Sen. Laura Ellman, a Naperville Democrat, in a news release. "Educating people of all ages on the dangers of potential overdose is an effective way to save lives and combat overdoses long term."

We urge the Senate to approve all three measures before legislators adjourn in a week's time.