By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
Brandon Dunn, a resident of Hays County, Texas, lost his son to illegal fentanyl poisoning last year. His son and two other teenage boys in the same rural county died of fentanyl overdoses within 60 days of each other.
Dunn testified Wednesday before the US House Judiciary Committee, which held its first hearing on “The Biden Border Crisis, Part One.” A second hearing will be held in Yuma, Arizona.
RELATED: Children under 14 are dying faster than any other age group from fentanyl poisoning
Dunn is the co-founder Forever 15 projectThe nonprofit organization he and his wife founded after their son Noah died last August.
A high school sophomore, Noah “was killed by a drug dealer selling counterfeit Percocet pills,” Dunn testified. There was no Percocet in the pill. Instead, they said it contained 8 milligrams of fentanyl. Two milligrams is considered a lethal dose.
Noah was the first of three fentanyl victims in less than two months in the rural county southwest of Austin. Two other teenage boys died last summer from counterfeit Xanax and Percocet pills containing illegal fentanyl, prompting the Hays County Independent School District to launch an investigation. promotion To educate parents and students about counterfeit prescription pills and illegal fentanyl. Nurses’ offices, local law enforcement and other agencies in the county are stocked on NARCAN, a life-saving drug that quickly reverses opioid overdoses.
Shortly after, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, worked with Boerne ISD. produce A public service announcement warning parents and students about the dangers of illegal fentanyl.
“One pill kills,” he and others warn.
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Dunn cried throughout his entire testimony. He took issue with a comment made by ranking member Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, in his opening statement, saying more drugs are being seized at ports of entry.
RELATED: Florida law enforcement officials seize enough fentanyl to kill the state’s entire population
As illegal fentanyl is smuggled across the southern border, Dunn said, “Given the lethality of this drug, even being smuggled in a backpack or a fanny pack or someone’s pocket is enough to kill thousands of people.
“This is not just a border checkpoint issue. Without immediate medical intervention, a person is unlikely to survive. That’s how fast it kills. “
A fourth teenager died in Hays County in January from fentanyl poisoning, Dunn said in response to Roy’s question. During Christmas break, six people were saved using NARCAN; Another eight were saved last summer using NARCAN.
Texas law enforcement officials working through Operation Lone Star told Center Square they’re increasingly concerned about what’s happening between ports of entry — volumes of drugs at levels they’ve never seen before. As of March 2021, OLS officers alone have seized enough fentanyl between ports of entry and across Texas to kill everyone in the United States, and seizures and volumes continue to rise.
Dunn testified about the trend of young teenagers being killed by illegal drugs.
“In our activism work we have come across many families who have lost children to illegal fentanyl,” she said. “In the five months since Noah’s death, we have visited 28 other families who have lost children to illegal fentanyl, including children as young as 13.
“For us, this is not a political issue,” he said. “This is about the safety of our children and the citizens of our country. We are working with several legislators, primarily Democrats, to prevent this from happening.
RELATED: Florida AG Warns of ‘Horrifying’ New Trends in Fentanyl Distribution
According to this data Families Against Fentanyl Analyzes Children under 14 are dying faster than any other age group from illegal fentanyl poisoning.
Naloxone/Narcan (generic/brand), a life-saving drug, is available in every state and the District of Columbia, free and at low cost online, through many community organizations and pharmacies with or without a prescription, and with or without insurance.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.