In response to recent tragic events in a nearby community, Texans Can wishes to inform all parents, students, and community members about what they can do to be aware of, and prevent, the very real dangers of fentanyl.
Fetanyl Is Fatal
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Under highly controlled conditions—including a doctor’s careful supervision—fentanyl was designed to help manage extreme pain in cancer patients.
As with other opioids, fentanyl has been produced, sold, and used illegally and is now widely recognized as a national crisis: in 2022, 71,000 people died of an opioid overdose (twice the number of those who die each year in fatal car accidents)—fentanyl being one of the most common causes.
People who obtain other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, meth, or even oxycodone through a dealer are actually getting drugs laced with fentanyl. The buyer may not even be aware.
Fentanyl doesn’t take much to kill—an amount about the size of a pencil tip has been enough to prove fatal.
Fentanyl Is in Texas
From September 2022 to February 2023, there have been nine cases involving middle and high school students in Carrollton, Texas. Six students overdosed. One of those suffered temporary paralysis.
Three students are dead.
All students involved were between the ages of 13 and 17.
The students had purchased pills manufactured illegally to resemble prescription drugs, and the pills were laced with fentanyl.
This story, which has attracted national news, including NBC and CNN, deserves the attention of each parent and student in our communities.
Fentanyl Can Be Stopped
Parents and guardians are strongly urged to speak with their children about what fentanyl is, what it can do, and how to make choices of friends, activities, and support systems that promote health and well-being.
Stay Informed
See these resources to learn the signs of an opioid overdose, what to do, and—most importantly—how to prevent opioid abuse in the first place.
English
“Fentanyl Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 23 February 2022.
“Fighting Fentanyl.” Texas Health and Human Services.
Español
“Datos sobre el fentanilo.” Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades. 30 Deciembre 2021
“La lucha contra el fentanilo.” Comisión de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Texas. Accessed 13 February 2023.