A Mother’s Tragic Loss Drives Push for Fentanyl Education

A mom who tragically misplaced her teenage son to fentanyl poisoning is talking out concerning the opioid disaster among the many nation’s youth. Federal knowledge exhibits that amongst 10- to 19-year-olds, fentanyl deaths rose 182% from 2019 to 2021.

“These days, experimenting with drugs is deadly,” mentioned Janet Hehl, mom of Alec Pierce Hoffman. 

“The cause of Alec’s death was, in fact, fentanyl poisoning. I know that he took a pill, I don’t know how he got it or what he thought it was,” Hehl instructed The Daily Signal in an April interview. “I found him unresponsive in his room in the afternoon after speaking to him that morning and did not suspect anything abnormal.”  

Hoffman was 17 years previous when he died in 2022. He was a aggressive cross-country runner, humorous teenager, and scholar at St. John XXIII College Preparatory in Katy, Texas.  

Hehl says she needs society would give attention to elevated training round fentanyl and that the legislation would mirror better penalties for drug sellers. “We need to make stronger efforts to combat the fentanyl attack,” she mentioned.

According to the most recent analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid overdoses took the lives of more than 80,000 individuals in 2021, with artificial opioids similar to fentanyl accounting for 88% of the deaths. And in line with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the main explanation for loss of life for Americans ages 18 to 45 is fentanyl overdose. 

“Fentanyl made a cameo appearance in the United States late in the 1970s, when it was known as ‘China White.’ Now, however, it has become the principal villain responsible for America’s overdoses and fatalities,” Paul Larkin, a senior authorized analysis fellow within the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in a authorized memorandum. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s information and commentary outlet.) 

“China and Mexico are responsible for the influx of fentanyl because they work together to ship, produce, and smuggle it across the border,” Larkin defined. “Fentanyl and its analogues are the principal threat because they are far more potent than heroin, making them easier to smuggle,” he added. 

“You would not believe how many parents I’ve encountered who have lost a child the same way,” Hehl mentioned. “Every support group I’ve attended, every group I’ve joined on social media, I always encounter someone else who lost a child to fentanyl poisoning.”  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that amongst folks aged 10 to 19 years, the median month-to-month charges of fentanyl-induced deaths rose 182% from December 2019 to December 2021.  

“The problem is that fentanyl is 10-20 times as potent as heroin—or 50-100 times as powerful as morphine,” Larkin mentioned concerning the fatal nature of the drug in an e-mail to The Daily Signal. 

In his publication, “The Scourge of Illicit Fentanyl,” Larkin wrote that “heroin use had never been a particularly safe pastime, but once fentanyl appeared, users began dropping like flies.” 

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, it normally takes solely two milligrams, or 0.002 grams of fentanyl to have deadly outcomes on the patron.  

“Experimenting with drugs is not a new thing, but these days, it is much more deadly,” Hehl mentioned. “If you get a pill from an unknown source, chances are it has fentanyl in it. And depending on the person and the amount, it could very likely end in death.”  

This might doubtless be as a result of “fentanyl is cheaper to produce, smuggle, and distribute than heroin,” Larkin mentioned, making it extra worthwhile for drug sellers.  

In March 2023, the drugs naloxone, generally recognized by the model identify Narcan, was made out there to the general public over-the-counter after its synthetization in 1961. It works to quickly reverse an opioid overdose similar to these with fentanyl by attaching to opioid receptors, the proteins inside a cell or on its floor that obtain alerts and are accountable for producing the pain-relieving properties of opioids. Narcan reverses and blocks the opioid’s results on the physique.  

However, critics aren’t offered on Narcan being the answer to the United States’ fentanyl loss of life charges. 

“It can take multiple doses of Narcan to offset a fentanyl OD [overdose]. Hospitals have that type of supply, but EMS [emergency services] personnel might not, and very few individuals will,” Larkin identified in an e-mail to The Daily Signal.  

The authorized skilled mentioned that when there’s a security web out there, like when people know that they’ve Narcan out there in case they overdose, “some people will take risks they wouldn’t. … Economists call that the ‘moral hazard problem.’ I like to think of it as playing Russian roulette with more than one round in the cylinder.” 

When requested about her ideas on Naloxone, Hehl mentioned, “I’m not against it. I support the idea of supplying it at nurse’s stations in all schools. It could save a life. But it’s not the solution.”  

Hehl shared her ideas as to what could be placing younger folks on the trail towards fentanyl publicity, starting with the fashionable music trade. 

“Popular music, specifically rap music, is glorifying drug use, and it’s having an impact on our kids. I randomly chose three songs from Alec’s playlist and all of them had drug references. Drug use is depicted as casual and habitual,” Hehl mentioned. 

She shared some lyrics from a number of tracks by American rapper and report producer LUCKI: “Pop another pink … codeine on the bus … All this xan [Xanax] in my system … I would try to get off it, but I’m feelin’ too lazy.”  

Hehl concluded, “We need to address the opioid epidemic. Find out why people are taking opioids and offer other alternatives. There is something they are looking for—escaping, feeling relaxed, etc. Let’s offer and encourage safe alternatives for kids and adults.” 

“Therapy, therapeutic experiences, different types of extracurricular programs in schools and work. Activities that promote physical and mental well-being,” she mentioned. 

As extra mother and father grapple with the identical actuality that Hehl faces, Larkin supplied, “We need to educate people about fentanyl’s danger, persuade them not to run the risks it poses, and stop the sale of poison to our fellow citizens.”  

Editor’s notice: The creator of this text, Mary Elise Cosgray, was pals with Alec Hoffman.