MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Fentanyl is a decades-old drug primarily used in pain relief over the years.
More potent than heroin or morphine, fentanyl can be cheaply produced as a synthetic drug. That means uses can get a stronger high for even less product.
Since 2020, fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 45 in the US with 79,000, according to the Centers For Disease Control.
On this episode of To The Point Already, Spectrum Bay News 9's Rick Elmhorst and Roy De Jesus talk about the growing fentanyl crisis with the Manatee County medical examiner, a mental health counselor and a woman whose family was forever changed by drugs.
“Fentanyl has been around for a long time,” said Dr. Russell Vega, the Manatee County Medical Examiner. “The amount of abuse of fentanyl in the past was relatively low. Not surprising, when people figured out they could make fentanyl inexpensively, we started seeing more of it abused as a street drug.
Shelby Cooper’s brother Ryan died taking internet-ordered pills unknowingly laced with fentanyl. He was 22 years old.
“It was devastating. It completely tore my family apart. It was hard to watch him doing this to himself,” Cooper said of her brother’s battle with addiction. “We were seeking out treatment centers, we were looking into resources, we were always trying to find the next solution.
“I think it came down to he was not ready for the help.”
Treatment officials and mental health counselors are seeking answers and trying to provide that help.
“The hope is there is treatment,” said Melissa Larkin Skinner, a mental health counselor with Centerstone, an addiction treatment facility in Bradenton. “And people recover every day. Everyone’s journey is different and the hope is seek them out and seek recovery.”
ABOUT THE SHOW
Spectrum Bay News 9 Anchor Rick Elmhorst sits down with the people that represent you, the people fighting for change and the people with fascinating stories to ask the hard questions.