The importance of understanding the dangers in our world today cannot be overstated. Because of this, April 7, Platte County Deputy Alex Ernst came to Archangels Catholic High School to share information about fentanyl and other drugs with faculty and students in grades 7-12.
Deputy Ernst is a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), one of two in the Platte County Sheriff’s Department. He is certified in recognizing the use of drugs and determining whether someone is on a depressant, like alcohol, or a stimulant, like methamphetamine. He can be called to other departments in the state to help with their investigations when a DRE is needed.
We often hear of fentanyl coming over the border with Mexico, but Deputy Ernst stated that more drugs come through legal border crossings with Canada using complicated systems of distribution. They generally make their way to the coasts and major cities before finding a market in rural areas. However, that does not mean that fentanyl is not circulating in Nebraska. Platte County has done a good job locating distributors within the county and taking steps to stop the flow of drugs, according to Ernst. However, he did say that Highway 81 is a pipeline for drug trafficking.
