With the rampant spread of drugs, an increasing number of young Americans are losing their lives due to accidental ingestion or contact with drugs or counterfeit medications.
17-year-old Major Manning from Mountain House, California, took a painkiller called “Percocet” unknowingly mixed with the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, which tragically took his life. This is not an isolated incident, as similar tragedies are becoming more common in California.
In July of this year, a 22-year-old woman named Jestice James from Los Angeles was charged with two counts of murder after her three-year-old twins died at home from exposure to fentanyl.
During the same month, a couple from Apple Valley, Southern California, was arrested for allegedly causing their young daughter to be hospitalized after exposure to fentanyl.
The fentanyl crisis in California has raised concerns across various sectors. In the first half of 2024 alone, California authorities seized nearly 7 million fentanyl pills and 3,725 pounds of fentanyl powder.
On a national scale, fentanyl has become the deadliest drug in history. According to data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, synthetic opioids led to nearly 38,000 deaths in the first half of last year in the United States. Data from the UCLA Medical Center also revealed that in 2022, nearly 22 high school students died each week from drug overdoses, with the majority succumbing to counterfeit drugs containing fentanyl.
“This has become an epidemic,” said Rhonda Manning, mother of fentanyl victim Major. After her son’s death, Manning founded the non-profit organization “A Major Movement” to educate parents and students about the dangers of fentanyl.
Manning emphasized the dangers of taking unidentified painkillers. She told a reporter, “In today’s society, you can’t just take anything because everything poses a deadly risk, and you truly don’t know what you’re actually ingesting.”
For teenagers, counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl are most lethal: children may believe they are purchasing ordinary medication only to discover they contain fentanyl or are direct fentanyl derivatives.
California has witnessed too many tragedies in the past, such as a 17-year-old baseball player in Los Angeles County who lost his life to fentanyl poisoning, a 16-year-old who died after mistakenly ingesting a “Xanax” anti-anxiety pill containing fentanyl, and a 15-year-old female student at a Hollywood high school who tragically died on campus after consuming a counterfeit “Percocet” painkiller laced with fentanyl.
The California Department of Public Health states that the potency of this drug is at least 50 times stronger than heroin and even more addictive. Many wonder why this drug has become so prevalent in the United States and why drug traffickers are so brazen.
Cindy De Silva, a prosecutor in San Joaquin County, explains, “The challenge we face is that the precursor chemicals for these synthetic drugs are produced in China with support from the Chinese Communist Party… then smuggled from China to Latin America.”
She points out that once Mexican drug cartels obtain the necessary precursor chemicals for making synthetic drugs, they mix these substances with other powders to produce counterfeit drugs containing fentanyl.
“China is doing this intentionally,” De Silva says, as fentanyl is highly addictive and creates an immediate addiction, ensuring a steady customer base for life.
She also warns that as long as drug trafficking groups can easily enter the U.S. drug market through the largely insecure southern border, the fentanyl crisis may continue to worsen. According to the National Immigration Forum, most fentanyl enters the U.S. through ports of entry.
“This is not a minor issue, but the crux of the problem,” De Silva states.
After several months of investigation, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report on April 16 this year elucidating China’s role in the fentanyl epidemic in America. The report revealed how China assists in the outward export of fentanyl materials and other synthetic drugs through direct subsidies and incentives, highlighting China’s “drug warfare” against the U.S.
American children are greatly affected by this “drug war.” Children may unknowingly purchase fentanyl-laced counterfeit drugs on social media, or come into contact with fentanyl at home.
De Silva points out that accidental contact with fentanyl is not fatal, but inhaling or ingesting it can be deadly. Curious children may ingest a pill at a friend’s house and tragically end up dying.
Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. Therefore, Jennifer Burruel, mother of a fentanyl victim, says, “I truly disagree with people calling these deaths overdoses.”
About two years ago, Burruel’s 29-year-old son passed away from fentanyl poisoning. An autopsy revealed a mix of the anti-anxiety drug “Xanax” and fentanyl in his system.
Burruel shares, “I know he had a lot of work stress, so I believe he may have received a pill from someone he trusted.”
Since her son’s passing, Burruel dedicates much of her time to educating teenagers about the dangers of fentanyl and places photos of drug overdose victims on billboards to raise awareness. She also hosts community events, distributing the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone for free.
“People need to understand this is not just a drug user’s problem,” Burruel explains. “It doesn’t just affect drug users; it threatens families and children.”