“Our administration is committed to fighting the heroin and opioid crisis using every single tool at our disposal,” said Lt. Governor Rutherford. “It will take all of us – families, communities, the private sector, and every level of government – working together to find innovative solutions to turn the tide of this deadly epidemic.”

Lt. Governor Rutherford was given a demonstration of SDI narcotics detection and identification technologies in use by first responders and other security groups in Maryland and across the country. The demonstrations included the Ionscan 600 – a portable system that detects invisible amounts of narcotics like fentanyl, and explosives, in seconds. It is used in airports, correctional facilities and security checkpoints across the world; the Hazmat ID Elite/Target ID, an infrared handheld chemical identifiers that analyse powders, gels, solids and liquids. Results can be used as court-admissible evidence; and the Ace-ID, which uses Raman laser technology, allowing users to test unknown substances without contact, including through plastic and glass.

SDI also enhanced its Reachback ID 24/7 hotline to give customers using these technologies access to Ph.D. scientists to support the field-based analysis of fentanyl and several of its analogues.

Stephen Esposito, VP, Business Development and Sales, SDI, said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to show Lt. Governor Rutherford the fentanyl detection and identification technology developed at SDI. We look forward to working with him and other authorities in Maryland to protect the public against this epidemic. Combining our technologies with the right support and deployment protocols can serve as the benchmark for other state and local agencies moving forward.”

Kevin Schmidt, VP, Government Relations, Smiths Detection, said: “The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently stated that fentanyl exposure is a ‘significant threat to law enforcement personnel, and other first responders.’ We agree: fentanyl exposure is a real concern and we must protect those first responders on the front line.”