The health officials in Columbia said fentanyl isn’t just killing people in the substance abuse community, but also killing children who aren’t even aware they’re taking it. Point to be noted that the deadly drug has been found in vape pens on high school campuses in recent months. The officials have a growing concern that middle school, high school, and college-aged kids are being targeted as criminals who make fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax. Jamie Puerta’s only child, Daniel, was 16 when he died after taking a pill containing a lethal dose of fentanyl. Puerta said, “I walked into my son’s room at 8 am in the morning and found him dead”. The Santa Clarita, California, resident is now dedicated to keeping the drug out of the hands of young people.
Puerta also said, “I’ll never see him get married or have a family of his own. I will never be a grandfather”. Police confiscated vape pens last month, laced with fentanyl from students in at least 2 American high schools. One is located in Madisonville, Tennessee, and another in Norwalk, Connecticut. Moreover, 19-year-old Johan Pleitez of El Monte, California says the problem is common. He’s in rehab after overdosing on fentanyl. Pleitez said, “I’m a youngster myself, so I know a lot of people that do that at school, you know, it’s bad. They don’t know what they’re smoking anymore. Snapchat, Instagram, people from their school, it’s everywhere. Too many children are dying, and there should be no reason for this”. He said his son Daniel bought the fatal pill through a dealer on Snapchat thinking it was oxycodone.
The owner of Action Drug Rehab in Santa Clarita, Cary Quashen said, “I’m seeing kids, 16-year-old kids that are buying drugs on the internet. These drugs are being dropped off at their homes”. Puerta says his son consumed half a pill and it took his life. He said, “Do I condone his decision of wanting to self-medicate during the pandemic or wanting to take a pill? Absolutely not. I do not condone it. But he certainly did not deserve to die for making that decision”. Sarah Goldsby, with the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, said there are growing concerns about fentanyl use in the middle, high school, and college students. These drugs look like Adderall which is a very commonly misused prescription drug by our college students.