HELENA — The Montana Division of Criminal Investigations says that for the first three-quarters of 2024, over 250,000 drug dosage units were seized by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area in Montana, which is down from the same period in 2023.
"It really doesn't feel that way on the street. A thousand pills was a big deal to seize to where we're [now] seeing 10,000 and higher than that," said Steven Crawford, the chief of the Narcotics Bureau for the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation through the Department of Justice.
He has agents within the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
He says the top threats for his bureau are methamphetamine and fentanyl, and they are seeing a rise in cocaine.
Crawford said, "Virtually 100% of the methamphetamine and fentanyl that we get comes from Mexico. When I get the question, 'How much of that is cartel-related?' All of it."
Montana has five drug task forces and one criminal interdiction team through the Montana Highway Patrol.
"We know that these traffickers are getting smarter. They're using more of the secondary roads. Even some of our gravel roads in Montana are being utilized now," said Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, which is separate from Rocky Mountain HIDTA, provided its numbers specifically for drugs seized in Montana for 2023 and 2024.
They saw 34,000 fewer fentanyl pills, four kilograms less of heroin, and 22 kilograms less of methamphetamine.
A 2020 to 2023 report from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services says, "More than 100 people die every year from drug overdose in Montana."
"I've seen people as young as early teens, even younger than that, unfortunately, to people in their eighties using drugs," said Dr. Kyle Moore, the director of addiction medicine and a family physician at St. Peter's Health in Helena.
Dr. Moore looks at ways drugs impact a person's physical and mental health.
He said, "We see it's just like if someone were to have another medical condition where things weren't happening in their body. We wouldn't tell someone with multiple sclerosis to make their muscles work better."
The Department of Justice has provided roughly 500 Narcan kits at Montana public schools and organizations over the past year, helping people going through an opioid overdose.
Moore describes Narcan as a fire extinguisher.
"I think everyone should have Narcan in their house because you never know who you're going to interact with who may or may not have a drug problem," said Moore.
If you or someone you love is in crisis, Chief Crawford recommends calling 988 for help, and if you are struggling with addiction, Dr. Moore's office is taking appointments with no referral necessary.
