SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA, February 17, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A pair of Former United States Governors, Governors William F. Weld and Thomas J. Ridge, have reinforced their support of law enforcement efforts in response to the pressing threat posed by fentanyl and the worsening opioid crisis. Among the efforts supported by the Governors is safe and responsible presumptive field testing for fentanyl, as can be conducted using SwabTek’s Fentanyl+ Test Kits.
Both Governor Weld and Governor Ridge, each with esteemed backgrounds in law enforcement and homeland security, serve on the advisory board for SwabTek. Their involvement in the company dates back to the brand’s launch in the fall of 2019. However, their reinforced support of SwabTek’s efforts to help law enforcement combat the opioid crisis come at a time where the threat that fentanyl poses to the public is at an all-time high.
In September 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration released statistics regarding the ‘alarming’ prevalence of fentanyl in counterfeit pills. The warning noted that over 9.5 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl had been seized in the United States that year, to date, more than double the total of the two previous years combined. Increasingly, fentanyl and fentanyl-laced narcotics have found their way into the lives of the American public. Last month, a 13-year-old seventh grade student in Hartford, CT died of a fentanyl overdose following an exposure at school. The latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that drug overdose deaths have reached another record high amid the Covid-19 pandemic and continued rise of fentanyl.
SwabTek’s Fentanyl+ Test Kit provides a simple and safe way for law enforcement professionals to detect the presence of fentanyl, major fentanyl analogues, and other high-threat opioids and narcotics. The test provides results for the presence of fentanyl in seconds, with a testing procedure that eliminates the use of corrosive liquid chemicals and reduces the risk of fentanyl exposure. The test has already been successfully deployed in law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal level across the United States.
Empowering law enforcement with the ability to detect fentanyl safely and quickly helps officers understand the threats they are encountering and allows them to make better informed decisions in real-time. Presumptively identifying fentanyl permits officers the opportunity to reduce the risk of incidental exposure, to themselves and others, and to respond accordingly to suspected overdose.
“It is important to equip our law enforcement with the tools they need to tackle this problem, head-on,” said Governor Weld. “The ability to safely conduct preliminary field-testing for fentanyl is an essential piece of policing this issue, and can greatly enhance the ability for officers to investigate and disrupt criminal activity.”
“An effective strategy to manage this crisis starts by strengthening our enforcement efforts at every level,” said Governor Ridge. “Improved methods for detecting fentanyl at our borders, in our transportation sector, and in our communities, are an essential part of a comprehensive approach to counter drug trafficking.”
Governor William F. Weld is the former Governor of Massachusetts. In addition, he served as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, and was appointed by President Reagan to lead the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he served until 1988.
Governor Tom Ridge served as the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001), and as infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam (1968-1970) where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He also served as the nation’s first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2003-2005.
SwabTek is a US-based manufacturer that produces the world's only dry reagent detection tests for narcotics and explosives. SwabTek’s technology replaces hazardous liquid chemicals and complicated procedures with simple and safe, dry-reagent technology. SwabTek products are available online now at https://swabtek.com/collections/kits and offline by contacting a member of SwabTek’s team at sales@swabtek.com.
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