A recent story out of Florida about a police officer's near-death experience after becoming exposed to fentanyl is worthy of retelling.

            On Tuesday, Officer Courtney Bannick found a rolled-up dollar bill inside her police car.  Wearing rubber gloves, she picked up the bill.  It was a windy day and she came in contact with some residue from the bill.  She began to struggle to breathe.

            Another officer at the scene heard her struggle and found her drifting in and out of consciousness.  Along with two other officers, they laid her on the ground and administered Narcan. She was brought back and was talking before she again lost consciousness and appeared to have stopped breathing, the bodycam footage released by the department shows.

            In all, she was given three doses of Narcan before an ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital.

            She is now doing fine.  The entire event was captured on police video cameras. At her request, she asked that the video be released in order to spread awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.

            Even from her hospital bed she is serving and protecting by asking for the release of the video.

            This isn't the first case of somebody being accidentally exposed to fentanyl.  Sadly, it won't be the last.

            According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the flow of fentanyl into the United States currently is more diverse compared to the start of the fentanyl crisis in 2014, with new source countries and new transit countries emerging as significant trafficking nodes. This is exacerbating the already multi-faceted fentanyl crisis by introducing additional source countries into the global supply chain of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl precursors.

            Further, this complicates law enforcement operations and policy efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States. While Mexico and China are the primary source countries for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the United States, India is emerging as a source for finished fentanyl powder and fentanyl precursor chemicals.

            The spread of illegally manufactured opioids, including fentanyl, has brought unprecedented levels of drug overdose deaths in North America.

            Narcan can be a lifesaver but we need more.

            The United States must: do a better job of educating everyone; do a better job of helping those at public injection sites to seek help for their addiction; stop the flow of fentanyl from our open borders; stop illegally manufactured fentanyl, now starting to be made in our own backyards.

            More and more innocent people are being exposed to fentanyl without knowing and they are dying because of it.

            Where does the responsibility for that lie?