Fentanyl Part 1: The Introduction

“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.”

– William Arthur Ward

I first heard about fentanyl during a lunch and learn at my children’s school last spring.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner, Dr. William “Beau” Clark and Tanya Stuart, a mental health and substance abuse counselor, spoke at the hour-long town hall type of meeting in a large room filled with round tables and brown bagged lunches. The flier we received via email the month before read: Substance Abuse: What Parents Need to Know. Come hear from experts in the field of adolescent/teen substance abuse and find out what you need to know to protect your kids from temptations that can lead to substance abuse.

They talked about overdose deaths, drug testing your kids and the danger of fentanyl. They passed around a vape which looked like a USB thumb drive and a box of Narcan, the drug used to revive someone who has overdosed on an opioid or opiate.

But their message was even more direct: Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and it’s here. It’s being cut with different drugs on the street including colorful pills marketed towards children, and it can kill you the first time you take it.

I remember leaning over and whispering to a friend who lives in my neighborhood. She works at a local hospital, and I quietly asked, “Is this as bad as it seems?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Worse.”

I have a daughter in eighth grade and a son in fifth grade. I am not naïve to the curiosity my kids will face as teenagers. I know one day they may try something. But that one time could be their last. That’s how potent and deadly this drug is.

More than 70,000 people have died from fentanyl-related overdoses in the United States in 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In 2021, there were 311 people in East Baton Rouge Parish who died from accidental overdoses, 88 percent of those were fentanyl-related deaths. East Baton Rouge Parish is 14 percent higher than the national average when it comes to overdose deaths. That means we are losing people to fentanyl at a higher rate than the entire country.

I started researching and reporting on fentanyl in late July 2022. It’s worth noting that this is not just a Baton Rouge issue. It’s a macro problem – a national crisis. But I live in Baton Rouge and I wanted to look at the micro issue as it relates to others who also live here. The people I have interviewed have been dealing with fentanyl for a long time.

I chose to write this story for my Web site and not a publication because I didn’t want space constraints or hard deadlines. I wanted the data to drive my reporting. Every Monday, I will publish another article in this nine-part series. I’m starting this today because September is National Recovery Month.

Each piece of this puzzle will explain the intricacies and challenges our city is facing in its fight against fentanyl. Throughout the series, I explored the difference between opioids and opiates, I interviewed a mother who lost her son to addiction, I learned about the brain and neuroplasticity, withdrawal and why recovery is an uphill battle. I’m going to explain the cost of addiction, both financially and emotionally. I examine policy and law, activism, and awareness. I include all my research throughout my writing, either as a link or through quotes and attributions.

This was supposed to be one story written for parents like me, who want to keep their children safe as they mature and become more independent adults. This was supposed to be the second independent article for my Web site, a simple piece about the dangers of fentanyl and what’s being done to combat this drug.

But this story is more complex. Fentanyl and drug addiction are big topics, and while I covered a lot, there’s a still a lot more to cover. Every question I had when I began reporting on this piece, led me to new set of questions, more people, some answers, a lot of frustration and a deeper understanding that only a unified and collective collaboration of resources and communication can help keep our children safe.

The second part of this series, “Opioids vs. Opiates” will be published Monday, September 26, 2022.

September 25, 2022