A Plane Crash Of Deaths Each Day: Fentanyl Overdoses By The Numbers, Feds Latest Data

Fentanyl, a potent opioid used as a pain medication is addictive, dangerous and a growing cause of overdose deaths. On September 14, an LA high school student died and a second one was hospitalized from an apparent overdose of counterfeit pills containing Fentanyl.

Local police are investigating the incident at Bernstein High School in Hollywood  as a homicide after being called to the scene by a parent who found a student experiencing overdose symptoms. 

The student alerted the parent about a friend who had also taken the drug, which they'd  bought as Percocet pills in a nearby park. When the second teen was found, she was unresponsive. According to the official statement, they called 911 and tried to revive her. When the ambulance arrived, she was already dead. 

The police noted that emergency crews received several overdose calls in the same area, believed to be other high school students who might have purchased the same substance.

Federal officials recently reported that 200 daily deaths - the highest levels ever recorded - are attributed to overdoses of fentanyl and other synthetic opiates. Specifically, an increasing number of teens are dying from overdose as fake pills have flooded the illegal market. They look similar to regular oxycodone, Percocet or Xanax tablets but actually containing fentanyl.

Overdose deaths due to synthetic opioids more than doubled since 2019, and now constitute nearly 67% of the total overdose deaths.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said official data shows “we must do more to lower the number of overdoses.”

Parents Orgazine

In the meantime, a group of parents of children who have died from fentanyl overdoses have organized a into a  “Stop the void” campaign that seeks to raise student awareness of the dangers of these substances. They are calling on the government to take more action on the matter.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash