The Faces of Fentanyl Poisoning
“When you look at the faces of the people that are dying from fentanyl… it looks like you’re just ripping pages out of a high school yearbook.”
This past week, Tony Mattivi, Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), joined us on The Poisoning podcast.
Previously, Tony served as a federal prosecutor for over 20 years, prosecuting drug trafficking, violent crime, racketeering, organized crime, gangs, money laundering and terrorism cases. What is more, he was also a paramedic. This is to say, he knows a lot about fentanyl poisoning.
We covered a LOT of ground, but I wanted to highlight a few of the topics we discussed.
“When you look at the faces of the people that are dying from fentanyl,” he tells me, “it looks like you’re just ripping pages out of a high school yearbook.”
As Tony noted fentanyl is now the “leading cause of death of Americans under 40-years-old.”
Along those lines, the DEA’s Twitter feed has been running a series called “Faces of Fentanyl” that really brings home Tony’s point.
Here are a couple examples:
You can find numerous of more examples that look just like these.
These “Faces of Fentanyl” are a stark contrast to the “Faces of Meth.”
The challenge, of course, is that the parents of fentanyl victims often have no idea that there even is a problem. Indeed, since one pill can kill, there might not even be a problem, until it’s too late.
… Of course kids, young adults, and other average citizens aren’t the only victims of fentanyl poisoning. Tony also told me the story of an undercover agent he works with who almost died of fentanyl poisoning, via transdermal contact. Narcan saved his life.
This is an important testimonial, because some so-called experts are skeptical that this is a real phenomenon. That’s why I was especially glad Tony shared it with us.
Lastly, Tony explained to me why — from a law enforcement perspective — it is important to refer to fentanyl poisoning, as opposed to an overdose. Simply put, the police treat homicides much more seriously than “accidents.”
(Note: Although we prefer the “poisoning” nomenclature, I also don’t think it helps to be pedantic. For example, this past week was “International Overdose Awareness Day” and many states including Maryland and Nevada used the opportunity to raise awareness, and Seattle, Washington, used the opportunity to train people how to use Narcan. This is a good thing.)
As you can imagine, we have barely scratched the surface in describing the scope of my interview with Tony Mattivi. This was a wide-ranging conversation, full of insights and stories.
I strongly encourage you to watch the whole thing on YouTube or listen to the podcast on iTunes or Spotify.
NEWS ROUNDUP…
FLORIDA: “We are handing out thousands of boxes of Narcan. We will flood the streets of Sarasota with Narcan.”
NPR: Critics wary as China promises tighter fentanyl controls
VIRGINIA: Narcan for students? Loudoun County schools considers new drug policy
GEORGIA: Dunwoody High student’s plan to get more Narcan on campus pays off
SOUTH CAROLINA: Drug investigation seizes enough fentanyl to kill millions, FBI says
CALIFORNIA: “Tranq, a combination of fentanyl and xylazine, an animal tranquilizer is a growing issue across the country.”
UTAH: Mom accused of fatally poisoning husband with fentanyl, will go to trial
FOREIGN POLICY: Washington and Beijing Don’t Understand Each Other’s Fentanyl Positions
ARKANSAS: “Through messages found on Brandon’s phone, the Molders [family] said they discovered one of Brandon’s neighbors had given him a pill to help him sleep the night he died. The Molders said Brandon would never have taken the pill if he had known its contents, and to them, the act was murder.”
MICHIGAN: Narcan training in Detroit saves lives amid opioid crisis
FOX BUSINESS: Ace Hardware store owner, 'one tough mother,' confronts overdose crisis after losing son to fentanyl
OKLAHOMA: “Our kids think they’re taking one thing and it’s not, it looks real and that night, she Googled what does a generic Xanax look like? Because she was just trying to be safe…”
TEXAS: New Narcan vending machine in Bastrop hopes to help curb opioid overdoses
COLORADO: The total cost of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Colorado is estimated to be $16 billion in 2023. This is over ten times the cost of fentanyl overdose from 2017, $1.3 billion.
NEWSWEEK: Fentanyl by Mail: How Telegram is Helping Americans Defy DEA Crackdown
Image of The Week
If you were wondering how much fentanyl it took to kill.
Stay Tuned!
If all goes well, next week’s podcast guest will be Paul Solotaroff, the Rolling Stone reporter who recently wrote an excellent piece called, “Inside Snapchat’s Teen Opioid Crisis.”
Thank you for reading this newsletter, which is meant to heal raise awareness about the poisoning that is taking the lives of so many of our fellow Americans. Please share and tell a friend!