A national crisis has found us

We read the headlines and convince ourselves the problems are distant, even abstract. Until they aren’t.

On the same day Nebraska State Patrol troopers arrested an Arizona man on I-80 near York, seizing roughly 19 pounds of suspected fentanyl pills and another five pounds of methamphetamine, law enforcement agencies at our end of the state were confronting tragedy of their own.

A 22-year-old woman in McCook lost her life to a suspected overdose. A second overdose in Culbertson, though not fatal, is also under investigation. Both cases are believed to involve counterfeit pills—designed to look like familiar prescription medications—likely laced with synthetic opioids that can kill in doses too small to see.

This may be new to us, but it is not new to the country. According to the CDC, 80,391 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2024. That figure, though down nearly 27 percent from the previous year, is still staggering. Many of those deaths were linked to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid so potent that even trace amounts can shut down the body’s ability to breathe. It binds tightly to pain and pleasure receptors in the brain, often leaving users unaware that they are losing consciousness—until it is too late.

We are told that counterfeited pills are seldom made in basements or backrooms nearby. Their origins are global. China remains the primary source of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, then Mexican cartels, especially the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, convert those precursors into finished product and funnel it north. It’s an illicit pipeline built on exploitation and deception, and it is proving difficult to shut off.

Diplomatically, the United States continues to press for accountability. In recent months, the administration has raised the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum. These conversations aim to build on agreements struck during the Biden administration, when China first pledged to crack down on chemical exports and Mexico agreed to partner on enforcement efforts. Progress is slow, but the commitment remains.

Still, interdiction at the border isn’t enough. The real work is being done closer to home—by Nebraska State Patrol troopers, county deputies, school counselors, health departments, and by families who simply refuse to give up on a loved one. Local schools have strengthened drug education efforts, and public health coalitions are distributing naloxone, providing recovery resources and working to reduce harm where they can.

Now it has happened in our backyard. It is no longer theoretical.

This is where we pull together—not to judge or to shame, but to support and educate. These people are not statistics; they are sons and daughters, neighbors and classmates. The solution begins with compassion, with honest conversations, and with an unwavering commitment to protect our community from becoming the next quiet casualty in a national epidemic.

We owe that to each other.