In Mount Airy, Maryland, a two-month-old child succumbed to fentanyl exposure after investigators found the drug in the baby’s bottle of formula. Prosecutors charged and convicted the two parents of involuntary manslaughter. Jeremy and Heather Frazier were each sentenced to five years in prison for causing the death of their infant child.
Sadly, these cases aren’t isolated. Very few people equate children to drug overdose. Unfortunately, they are happening in communities across America. Parents in Washington, California, Colorado, Maine, and many others are all awaiting trials on manslaughter charges due to recklessly exposing their children to lethal doses of fentanyl.
For roughly 50 years, the number of deadly poisonings among children five and under had been steadily decreasing. After the passage of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, mandates were put in place that made child proof packaging the norm for both prescription and over the counter medicines.
Unfortunately for America’s children, drug users and drug dealers of the poisonous narcotic fentanyl do not subscribe to America’s poison prevention measures.
In 2021, more than 1500 children died from ingesting opiates, four times as many as in 2018. Fentanyl deaths accounted for nearly all pediatric opioid related deaths in the United States in 2021. Its rapid increase has had a devastating impact on America’s families.
To give additional context to this frightening trend, among children up to four years old, fentanyl related fatalities rose 590% between 2018-2021. Additionally, for teens 15-19, fatalities rose 290% in that same time span. This accounts for 6.5 children out of every 100,000 in the United States.
Fentanyl is a man-made, lab created opioid that’s used to treat acute and chronic pain. It is 100 times more potent than morphine and 30-50 times stronger than heroin; and requires a much smaller amount to kill its user. A dose the size of a matchstick tip could kill anyone that takes it.
States across the country are now scrambling to enact new laws to combat the 182% increase in loss of life since 2019.
Since 2021, a growing number of parents have been charged with homicide for blatant indifference during their drug use; and irresponsible storage practices, giving children autonomous access to the deadly narcotic. Some 20 states have now enacted or are in the process of enacting what’s been called “drug induced homicide laws.”
In the state of Texas, there is “Tuckers Law” and in the state of California, there is “Melanie’s Law,” both of which have state legislators attempting to slow fentanyl’s homicidal path. These new laws are intended to target parents or any other household occupants for supplying or exposing innocent children to these dangerous poisons.
While prosecution may sound harsh to some, there must be accountability for those continuing to expose minor children to fentanyl.
There are three major reasons why synthetic fentanyl has contributed so greatly to this lethal rampage on America’s children.
First, the drug is easy to manufacture. It takes roughly one third of the time to manufacture than heroin. Key components are shipped into Mexico by land, sea, and air from China. After that, the drug cartels take it from there, smuggling it into the United States in every way imaginable.
Second, progressive policies have created a culture of permissiveness in blue cities and states. The decriminalization of the criminal code in liberal states has created the perfect lethal storm for those in the throes of addiction.
Third, the drug is widely available in multiple forms such as pills, powders, sprays, liquids, trans-dermal strips, and edible candies. This makes the drug easy to smuggle and of course, very difficult to detect. Recent border seizures have found millions of pills in boxes of candy marked as Skittles, Nerds, and other popular candies.
It’s readily apparent that children are now trapped in this perilous amalgam.
Some of the signs that children may be experiencing a fentanyl overdose include lethargic behavior, falling asleep or nodding off sporadically, loss of consciousness, aloofness, difficulty breathing, weak pulse, and choking or gurgling sounds. There may be additional symptoms, so please be vigilant for our children’s sake. If you see something, say something. The lives of our children depend on it. ◆
Thank you & God bless you,
Vincent Cavaleri
