New tech aims to improve opioid detection in Arkansas

The Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP) has launched a new project aimed at improving opioid analysis and reporting across the state. It's all part of the ongoing effort to combat the continuing crisis nationwide.

By: Brooke Buckner
THV11

The Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP) has launched a new project aimed at improving opioid analysis and reporting across the state.

It's all part of the ongoing effort to combat the continuing crisis nationwide.

The best way to describe it is an early-warning system that schools, college campuses and law enforcement agencies can use to detect suspected narcotics like fentanyl quickly.

It's called the Sentinel Project, and officials said it will help more accurately identify harmful drugs.

"I think it's so important to have timely data," ARORP Director Kirk Lane said. "[It] helps people get where they need to be."

Now, communities across the state have a new tool to help them get that data more efficiently.

It's called TruNarc, and it will help schools, college campuses, and law enforcement agencies easily analyze dangerous drugs at no cost.

The ARORP wrote a check for nearly a million dollars to buy 32 devices.

"Our mission is to distribute those opioid funds that came in for cities and counties, respectfully, out to organizations that will fill in the gap of solving the opioid epidemic in our state," Lane said.

Lane said in Arkansas alone, 429 people died as a result of the opioid epidemic in 2023, and 70% of those deaths were caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

"One of the gaps that we realized, and the reason that we brought this project forward, is understanding and knowing what your enemy is is half the battle," Lane said.

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