Marion Police Department is inviting community leaders, business owners, government officials, residents and more to its first ever Our State of Mississippi Fights Opioids & Fentanyl seminar as it works to educate the public and build a community approach to combating the highly addictive narcotics.

Police Chief Randall Davis said the seminar, which will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, at the Hamasa Temple Shrine in Marion, will feature as guest speaker Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Col. Steven Maxwell. Maxwell was a recent speaker at a recent police chiefs conference, Davis said, and his message is one more people should hear.

“That’s why I made an effort to get him here, to put this word out to people,” he said.

Opioids and Fentanyl, which is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid, are everywhere, Davis said, and much of the crime in Marion, Meridian, Lauderdale County and the surrounding region can be tied in some way to the illegal drugs. Dealers fight over distribution areas, leading to shootings and violence, he said, while addicts turn to burglary and theft to purchase the drugs.

Opioid abuse, which is rampant nationwide, impacts everyone, Davis said, and most people have been impacted by it in some way. Unfortunately, he said, law enforcement hasn’t done a great job of educating the public about the drugs, potential dangers and the resources available to help those suffering from addictions. With Tuesday’s seminar, he said he hopes that will change.

“This is a seminar based on talking about opioids, which I don’t think we do a great job of educating,” he said. “We know it’s out there on the street, and it’s going to effect a lot of people. We know that.”

Davis said opioid abuse impacts people from all walks of life, no matter their race, gender, social status, wealth or any other factor. Opioids are a problem that impact all aspects of the community, and success fighting against them needs to include the entire community as well, Davis said.

“It’s going to take everybody. It’s got to,” he said. “One man, one organization, one department, it can’t be done.”

Opioid deaths in Mississippi have skyrocketed in the past decade, climbing from 76 statewide in 2011 to 555 in 2021, according to data from the Mississippi Department of Health.

A January 2023 report on overdose deaths by MSDH stated the combination of COVID-19 and spread of Fentanyl exacerbated the trend with overdose deaths as a whole increased 34% from 2020 to 2021. Of the overdose deaths recorded in 2021, 60% involved Fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.

Tuesday’s seminar is free and open to everyone who wants to learn more about opioids, how they are impacting the community and what resources are available to help. No registration is required, Davis said, and all are welcome.

“If they’ve got time to come from Europe, let them come on,” he said.

For more information about the seminar, contact Marion Police Department at 601-483-9573.