Targeting anyone and everyone, Fentanyl, (an illicit drug) has taken its place as one of the leading causes of accidental death in the United States. Continuing the opioid crisis, fentanyl has proven to be 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Within this year, fentanyl has already claimed over 75,000 people’s lives which increased from years prior as more and more teenagers are being roped into the world of drugs via social media.

On Wednesday, October 26th CdM’s Peer Assistance Leadership (PAL) club held a video presentation in the lecture hall which focused on enlightening students about the current state of the fentanyl crisis. Showcasing the point of view of four parents who had each lost their children to fentanyl poisoning, this video was created by Dominic Tierno and Christine Wood. Taking place right in the middle of PAL’s annual Red Ribbon Week, this video titled “dead on arrival (fentanyl documentary)” influenced those who were in attendance to go on living their lives with the simple, yet important, information that fentanyl kills. Millie Clark a senior at CdM and a member of PAL was impacted by the video in several ways; the main one being that “the parent’s point of view was super heartbreaking to hear and not something [anyone would] want to hear from a parent, but unfortunately [must] hear to understand.”

With this drug, there is no time for addiction and there is no time to recover. A drug like this one kills rather than injures which is the case for the rest of the opioids out on the market. Mr. Oyas, a counselor on campus and the co-advisor of PAL explains Fentanyl’s effect by saying that “a lot of people don’t understand that even just a small little bit of something like fentanyl could kill [them].” With this reality in mind, the fentanyl crisis has become ever so rapidly increasing as people leave their lives in the hands of fentanyl hoping to not become a victim of this deadly drug, only to be proved wrong.