Science behind addiction and drug use aside there is a serious and growing problem in BC and it’s name is Fentanyl. The drug, for those who don’t know, is used to treat extreme pain in people with overwhelming diseases like cancer as well as those who have been deemed terminal by their doctors. The drug is prescribed in a patch form, similar to a nicotine patch, and it administers a steady dose of pain relief over the course of several hours. It is considered hundreds of times more powerful than morphine and is very dangerous because of how potent it is. Like other drugs which share similar properties it causes a “high” and is being used by addicts on the street for said “high”. The patches are often sold to addicts for a very steep price as they are hard to acquire and at times addicts will even buy used patches and melt them down and inject them into a vein, similar to the way heroin is injected. This story, however, is not about the traditional Fentanyl story we’ve heard about, but about the mothers who are currently in a state of shock and grief at losing their children to this horrendous drug.
The full video is available on CTV News and will be provided to those who wish to watch it, but what has many of these mothers desiring to inform the public of their stories is a hope to prevent further tragedy by showing that, in fact, their kids weren’t willingly taking Fentanyl in some cases but were taking other party drugs that had been laced with Fentanyl which lead to an overdose. Party drugs are dangerous, we all know that, as they can be cut with just about anything to save money to the people making them, but by adding Fentanyl to the mix many more party-goers are overdosing and ending up in the hospital or perhaps worse.
The mothers who have suffered the worst want their stories heard, and it’s a story every parent of a teenager or young adult should hear. I personally encourage parents to listen to the heartbreak, the grief and the suffering that these mothers have experienced in order to help others before it is too late. The video from CTV News is linked bellow.