“Recently, a patient’s high-school senior experimented with an opioid
and never woke because it was laced with fentanyl,” said Michelle P. Maidenberg Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R. Fentanyl is now the number-one cause of overdose deaths in the country. It surpasses heroin by a large margin. Expanding awareness and education is crucial. Fentanyl is being mixed into or sold as other drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamines, and others.
Fentanyl Poisoning
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdose deaths in the United States increased 28.5 percent between April 2020 and April 2021. In a 12-month period, ending in January 2022, 107,375 people in the United States died of drug overdoses/poisonings; 67 percent of these deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Most concerning is the fact that even a small amount of fentanyl can prove deadly. During adolescence and young adulthood, it’s typical for youth to experiment with alcohol and drug use. In current times, what might have been intended to be a fun night out socializing and experimenting could result in lethal consequences.
What Can Be Done?
I’m constantly confronted with youth who are clueless about the signs and risk for suicide and fentanyl poisoning. Most that I speak to hardly ever heard these terms discussed at school or at home. I hear gross misunderstandings: “I just have to make sure that I’m getting it from a reliable source”; “There’s nothing I can do if someone wants to do that”; and “It won’t happen to me.”
In one school, it was evident to students that a high schooler died by suicide. The parents requested from the school that the reason for his death remain confidential. The school respectfully complied with the parents’ wishes. Soon afterward, another high schooler in a neighboring community died by suicide. I suggested to the school administration that they take that opportunity to educate and talk to their students about suicide. The school administration never followed through. The underlying message to students was that it’s shameful and not important enough to talk about.
In the incident with the high-school senior, a group of friends were experimenting. Two were initially sick and were hospitalized, and the others went home. None of the other parents were informed by police officers, hospital staff, or the other parents. My patient’s son went home, went to sleep, and never woke up. People need to be accountable and look out for one another. This is a community-based issue that we’re all encountering collectively.
Keep the lines of communication open and don’t shy away just because it’s uncomfortable to talk about or you receive a resistant response from your child or in your advocacy efforts. Seek out professional supports when needed and educate yourself so you can educate others. We all have a responsibility to do our part and protect our youth.
For fentanyl poisoning information: See resources from the US Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s Opioid Overdose Prevention TOOLKIT.
