Fentanyl Area Problem Everywhere | Sampson Independent

Fentanyl is deadly.

And make no mistake, whether in a small town, a large, rural community, or a metropolitan area, the drug—perhaps the deadliest and most addictive we’ve ever seen—is readily available to anyone willing to try it.

Sunday night’s episode of 60 Minutes was an eye-opener to the impact this synthetic opioid is having on people in our country, particularly our teens. That piece, and a grieving mother’s plea to newspapers and TV stations across the country to spread the information parents need, inspired this editorial and our own plea for those who read it to understand the facts surrounding this powerful drug.

Don’t think this could ever happen to your child, bury your head in the sand about a problem that you think is happening somewhere else, to other children. Don’t assume that Fentanyl only affects people on the streets or drug addicts, and please don’t mistakenly assume that because we live in a small, rural area, this type of drug isn’t floating around somewhere.

It is.

According to the 60 Minutes report, Fentanyl, which is often used in counterfeit pills or to dilute cocaine and methamphetamine, is 50 times more potent than heroin. Ingesting just 2 milligrams of the substance can be fatal.

It has killed thousands of people — 70,000 this year alone. And according to those interviewed in the 60 Minutes report, as many as 22 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 are killed every week.

Fentanyl was developed by pharmaceutical companies for use in hospitals on patients with extreme pain. It quickly became a widely used medication. As pharmaceutical companies faced lawsuits that halted its mass production, drug cartels were ready to pick up the slack that pharmaceutical companies could no longer produce on a large scale.

Now, two drug cartels in Mexico are mass-producing the deadly drug, which is apparently cheap to make. Mass production, high demand, cheap production, and a supposedly robust social media marketing network equals easy access and a deadly disaster waiting to happen… anywhere.

The drugs come into our country across the border, often smuggled by American citizens who are used by the cartel to conduct their trade through the country. And while the Drug Enforcement Agency seizes thousands of pounds of the drugs, thousands more pounds are coming through and eventually into the hands of others.

Sometimes the others are unsuspecting youngsters who experiment with drugs. Even though they shouldn’t do it, and most parents warn them not to, realistically many do.

One exposure to this powerful drug can lead to addiction or, in many cases, death.

This is a serious problem, a battle that must be fought on many fronts. Starting with perhaps reducing demand, which has increased exponentially in recent years. That is why the cartels are so interested in continuing its production.

While we can’t win the fight overnight, for us here in Sampson, it may start in our homes, in our churches, in our schools, and even in our neighborhoods. Talk to young people about the impact these drugs can have on their lives, show them the 60 Minutes report, and tell them over and over how one experiment can be their last experiment.

And emphasize with words and actions how important it is to think for themselves and make wise choices based on what they think, not what others think.

As with everything, it starts with ourselves: each of us must make a difference, one person at a time.