Avon, Indiana – Several law enforcement agencies in central Indiana are alerting parents and their kids to the risks posed by fentanyl.
The DEA’s “One Pill Can Kill” campaign is behind everything. One of several organizations attempting to take a stand and spread awareness about fentanyl is the Avon Police Department.
“If we can prevent even one life from being taken from these drugs, that’s our responsibility, and that’s our passion,” said Avon Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Brian Nugent.
There is rising concern about who might obtain fentanyl as law enforcement attempts to eradicate it throughout the state. Just this year, an overdose claimed the lives of two Avon high school students.
“We’re seeing families suffer terrible loss of their children,” Nugent said. “And we’re trying to do everything we can to stop that.”
Nugent stated that his agency wants to involve the community for this reason.
“Right now we’re really just trying to get parents to understand these pills are out here,” he said. “They are out in our community. There are pills that may look at face value to be legitimate.”
According to the DEA, fentanyl was added to six out of every ten fraudulent prescription tablets that were found in 2022.
“It’s about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine,” said Dr. Derrick Oaxaca, an Emergency Medicine Physician with Ascension St. Vincent.
Even a small amount can be fatal, according to medical professionals, and the risk does not end there.
“To make things even worse, fentanyl acts pretty quick,” Oaxaca said. “So you have a lot of people that suffer from Opioid Use Disorder that use fentanyl that don’t have time to respond or react to the effect.”
According to Avon police, the “One Pill Can Kill” campaign aims to tackle the issue head-on.
“The biggest issue we want to stress to parents is have the courage to have these discussions with their children,” Nugent said.
Even local schools have been exposed to the subject by the department. Avon Police, according to Nugent, intend to continue interacting with local experts on mental health and addiction as well as with schools.
