BRYAN, Texas — Fentanyl- it is easily mistaken for other medications, inexpensive to manufacture and 100 times more powerful than morphine. One Texas mom lost her daughter to Fentanyl poising when she thought she was taking Oxycontin.
“I just want to share a little bit about Allison. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. She was four months away from finishing a paralegal program. She had aspirations of becoming a family lawyer; that was her goal and it’s just very sad that she’s not going to be able to do that," said Deb Scroggins.
The 21-year-old passed away in March 2020. Opioids are the leading cause of death for Americans 18 to 45 according to data collected by Families Against Fentanyl. Through her daughter’s tragedy, Deb hopes the public will know the dangers of the drug.
“That’s why this is so important, to get this story out, to share that people don’t know when they’re buying this stuff, or getting this stuff, or some friend gives it to them. If they don’t know where it came from, do not take it," she said.
Sunday marks National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. Despite what many might think, Deb is doing what she can to spread the message that not all fatalities are the same when dealing with Fentanyl.
“There’s such a stigma, everybody thinks if you die because of a drug thing, they’re an addict or they [overdosed], but that’s not the case with so many of these and that’s not the case with Allison," she said.
For those that are struggling with addiction or know someone who is, Latrease Marshall, a prevention intervention specialist at Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, offers this piece of advice.
“Anytime that there is trouble or any problems that you may have, you can always contact your doctor or the local hospital. You can also call BVCASA, we can always try to get you in and do a screening, or refer you...Fentanyl, even a small amount can be deadly and kill someone and I don’t think people really realize that," said Marshall.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control said that on average, 100,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses from April 2020 to April 2021, s a 30% increase from the previous year.