A short documentary on the dangers of fentanyl is seeing a resurgence, making the rounds in North Texas as the deadly drug continues to ravage the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the rest of the country.
The documentary Fentanyl Factor was produced by Safe Coalition, an anti-drug non-profit organization, to educate people in the United States about how fentanyl figures into the current opioid crisis and is playing an outsized role in overdose deaths.
The film is currently being circulated in partnership with the federal government’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, reported CBS DFW.
It was recently screened at both the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Denton, as well as in Grapevine.
One of the key points made in the documentary is how fentanyl is often mixed by traffickers with other drugs like cocaine, heroin, and counterfeit prescription pills, unbeknownst to users who end up overdosing on the powerful opioid.
“Our son, age 35, passed away from fentanyl poisoning only eight weeks ago. Right before Christmas. My son had a college degree, a really good job. An engineer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Everything to live for,” said Rhonda Ross at the TWU screening, according to CBS DFW.
Because of the drug’s high potency, fentanyl overdoses are becoming increasingly common. Like other opioids, fentanyl can disrupt individuals’ breathing ability, leading to brain damage and death.
In Texas, unintentional fentanyl-related deaths have skyrocketed since 2018, with thousands logged by Texas Health and Human Services. Among those deaths, men and people between the ages of 18 and 44 are overrepresented by a staggering degree, representing 72% and 74% of the total, respectively.
Those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl hope that sharing about its dangers can keep other families from experiencing that grief.
“The only way that we can make his life mean something is to get the word out so that another family doesn’t have to suffer this unimaginable heartbreak that we’ve had to endure,” said Ross, as reported by CBS DFW.