ODESSA, Texas — On Dec. 12, a 17-year-old in Odessa was charged with murder after selling pills laced with fentanyl to another teen who died after taking them. The lethal substance continues to take lives and threaten others, with teenagers very much involved and in danger.
This specific age group is being so heavily impacted due to a number of factors that are putting the youth at risk. The pressure that teenagers face in society currently, plus the presence of social media, are feeding fentanyl’s deadly nature.
“They have to know that this is potentially fatal to the person they’re selling it to," Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said. "There has been more young people killed with this stuff in the past year than anybody else I believe.”
Young people killed by what they think are prescription drugs.
“A lot of this fentanyl is in these fake pills that look like Percocet, they look like Oxy[codone], they look like Xanax or Adderall," said Jennifer Weston, data coordinator for the Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. "And so, the kids might think that they’re taking something that will help them concentrate for a test or that they’re taking something to calm their nerves down, but really it’s laced with illicit and fatal doses of fentanyl.”
Weston says if teens can’t get the drugs they want prescribed, they’ll use social media like Snapchat to order these fake pills.
“The drug dealer would sell it to maybe some underage kids because they’ll be able to sell that to their friends [and] to their peers," Weston said.
For the young sellers, there is one main incentive, says Sheriff Griffis.
“Money is the name of the game, it’s the root of all evil, and I’m sure these kids are trying to make a little money and it [doesn’t] matter if it kills anybody or not, and the fact of the matter is it’s killing a lot of people," Sheriff Griffis said. "And we’re going to take any and all efforts to try to identify these individuals selling this stuff and put them in jail.”
With teens vulnerable to fentanyl exposure, it’s on parents to help save lives.
“We’d love to make an arrest, but we want to save a life more than anything," Sheriff Griffis said. "If these parents – they have the right to go through their kid’s room if they’re living in their house – go through there. If they find anything, please call law enforcement. Let’s get out there, let’s get that stuff and potentially save a life or your kid.”
Weston mentioned that 67% of fentanyl deaths for ages 12 to 19 happen at home while a parent is home as well. The Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse has many program services and resources, so for parents, teenagers and those who need help in the fight against fentanyl, click here.