Eight Drug Overdose Deaths in the Last Week in Omaha & Lincoln
By Aaron Bonderson 
, Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
Aug. 17, 2021, 5:17 p.m. ·
In the last week, 21 people in Lincoln and Omaha have overdosed because of fentanyl-laced drugs, leading to eight deaths.
Emily Murray is with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) Omaha Division, which covers a five state area. She said one substance is being laced, which is leading to most overdoses.
“We have seen numbers increase over the past few months as we’ve seen more counterfeit pills coming into the market,” she said, "but this particular spike seems to be tying back more to cocaine that’s been laced with fentanyl.”
Murray said increasing overdoses have been seen around the country.
She said the best way to prevent overdoses is for families to have conversations about illegal drugs.
“We’re encouraging families to sit down together and have the conversation about the dangers of drugs, in general,” she said, but with this fentanyl being mixed into more and more drugs, it’s important for people to really understand that you might think you’re taking one product and it might be something entirely different.”
According to the DEA, fentanyl overdoses can happen from an amount as small as a few grains of salt and the substance is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.