Fentanyl is the leading cause of a surge in overdose deaths in Alabama and across the nation. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and other experts are joining AL.com to talk about the fentanyl crisis in Alabama and what can be done to handle it.

The event will be livestreamed on AL.com’s Facebook page and YouTube page at 11 a.m. CST. Following the livestream, the video will be available to watch on demand.

Tuberville will be joined by an expert panel featuring Sheriff Jay Jones of the Lee County Sheriff’s Department, who was the 2022 President of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association; Dr. Shereda Finch, executive director of the Council on Substance Abuse; and UAB phsycican and Heersink School of Medicine faculty member Dr. Stefan Kertesz. AL.com’s Ivana Hrynkiw will moderate the event.

More than 56,000 people in the United States died from overdoses of synthetic opioids like fentanyl in 2020, according to the CDC, an increase of 18-fold over 2013. In Alabama, overdose deaths involving fentanyl increased from 453 in 2020 to 1,069 in 2021, according to the Alabama 2023 Drug Threat Assessment.

The drug is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, according to the CDC. Two milligrams of fentanyl, equivalent to a few grains of salt, is potentially a lethal dose.

In Alabama, steps are being taken to try and combat the crisis. A bill to impose mandatory prison times for distributing fentanyl was near the top of the agenda for Alabama lawmakers when they resumed their regular session Tuesday.

Officials from Alabama’s largest statewide health organizations last week launched an “Odds are Alabama” campaign to spread the word about the danger posed by fentanyl, trying to direct people to places they can get help with addiction and access resources like naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, and testing strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl in other drugs.

The Alabama Department of Public Health and the Jefferson County Health Department offer free naloxone and training in how to use it.