Addiction & Mental Health Resources

Introduction

The fentanyl crisis is killing more Texans than ever before. Victims are getting younger and most people don’t even know they’re taking it. It’s extremely easy to overdose on fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, and people are losing their loved ones. They want you to hear their stories so that they can hopefully help save a life and prevent others from going through what they went through. Some of them have formed non-profit organizations to spread the message. You’ll also learn more about drug trafficking and how law enforcement is attempting to combat the overdose crisis.

Quotes

“The crisis has spiraled out of control. Over 5 years in Harris County, fentanyl related deaths shot up 467%, and for victims 21 and under it’s more distressing – a 933% spike.”

“The synthetic opioid binds to receptors in the brain to block out pain. It produces an incredible high and is highly addictive – key to a drug trafficker’s bottom line.”

“When we send our pills to the lab, 6 out of 10 pills are coming back as a lethal dosage. You’re playing with your life and there’s a 60% chance that you’ll end up losing.“

“At border crossings like this one, it’s a numbers game, a game of odds for fentanyl smugglers who are keenly aware that with so much traffic, U.S. Customs and Border Protection simply cannot inspect it all.”

“You can smuggle a small amount of fentanyl into the United States and you’re going to be able to make more money off of that than you would cocaine or heroin.”

“Mexican cartels are buying raw ingredients from China and shipping them here to Mexico where they’re creating fentanyl in clandestine labs that have no quality control, no pharmaceutical standards – basically making it in bathtubs and garages and back alley drug labs. Then they hire runners to bring it up north playing the odds they won’t undergo a full-blown inspection.”

“Computer servers on site and in the cloud work around the clock to flag thousands of drug related keywords. We collect that data and use our machine learning to classify that data for those people who are explicitly selling and then we visualize it so that different clients can use that information to take action.”

“Becky started a non-profit, A Change for Cam, in her son’s honor and turned her pain into a passion for raising awareness. She’s one of many parents refusing to sit on the sidelines as more die.”

“Sarah and three other grieving moms found purpose in their pain and began the Texas Memorial Walkway … ‘this is to maybe stop somebody from going through what we had to go through and to let people know that it can happen to anybody.’ That’s the message they take on the road as part of M-COPE, Montgomery County Overdose Prevention Endeavor. [They also have a Facebook group]

“Everyone has a role to play in fighting the fentanyl crisis. There is no single solution, no one size fits all. But as the death toll continues to climb, one thing is abundantly clear – doing nothing is not an option.“

Fentanyl

• Detecting Fentanyl. Saving Lives.
• Fentanyl: America’s Grim New Opioid Addiction
• Fentanyl: One Pill Kills
• Fentanyl Accounts for A Majority of Fatal Overdoses. But ERs Aren’t Testing For It
• Fentanyl Facts (CDC)
• Fentanyl Plus Stimulants Drives ‘Fourth Wave’ of Overdose Epidemic in The U.S.
• How The Fentanyl Crisis’ Fourth Wave Has Hit Every Corner of the US
• Inside a Free Fentanyl and Heroin Clinic
• Responding to a Fentanyl Overdose: What California First Responders Need to Know
• Straight Talk: Street Fentanyl [PDF]
• The Impact of The Deadly Fentanyl ‘Plague’ On One American City
• Why Fentanyl Is So Incredibly Dangerous

Opioid Crisis

• Beyond Supply: How We Must Tackle the Opioid Epidemic [PDF]
• California’s Opioid Crisis
• Facts About Naltrexone [PDF]
• Fentanyl: America’s Grim New Opioid Addiction
• How America Got Hooked on Opioids
• How Good Intentions Contributed to Bad Outcomes [PDF]
• How the Government is Making the Opioid Crisis Worse
• Opioid Crisis: Addiction, Overprescription, and Insufficient Primary Prevention
• The Impact of the Deadly Fentanyl ‘Plague’ on One American City
• The Opioid Crisis in Canada: A National Perspective
• Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic
• Unraveling the Start of the Opioid Crisis
• What Led to the Opioid Crisis – and How to Fix It
• Why Is There an Opioid Crisis?

Opioid Use Disorder

• 2-Minute Neuroscience: Opioids
• Drug Addiction: How Opioids Like Fentanyl Work
• How Do Opiates Affect the Nervous System?
• How Drugs Hijack Your Brain’s Mu Opioid Receptors
• Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
• Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
• Opiate Addiction | The Causes
• Opiate Addiction | The Signs
• Opiate Addiction | Why It’s So Intense
• Opiate Use Disorder or Opiate Addiction?
• Opioid Addiction (CAMH)
• Opioid Overdose (WHO)
• Opioid Use Disorder (NIH)
• Opioid Use Disorder: Medical Treatment Options
• Opioids & the Body: The Science of An Overdose
• Signs of Opioid Use Disorder
• Therapeutic Approaches to Opioid Use Disorder: What is the Current Standard of Care?
• This Is What Happens to Your Brain on Opioids
• Treatment of Opioid-Use Disorders
• What Causes Opioid Addiction, and Why Is It So Tough to Combat?

Talking to Kids About Addiction

• 8 Tips for Talking to Kids About Drugs
• Do’s and Don’ts: Talking to Your Kids About Drugs
• How to Have a Conversation About Drugs and Alcohol with Your Kids
• How to Talk to Kids About Drugs in the Age of Fentanyl
• How to Talk to Young Children About Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
• How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs (Ages 6 to 8)
• How to Talk to Kids About Drugs
• How to Talk to Kids About Drugs
• Prepare Yourself to Talk Effectively
• Talk with Your Children About Gambling
• Talking to Teens about Drugs: Found in Reverse Translation?
• Teen Gambling
• Teens and Drugs: 5 Tips for Talking with Your Kids
• The Domino Effect: Youth and Substance Abuse
• What Parents of Teens Should Know About Online Gambling
• Why You Should Talk with Your Child About Alcohol and Other Drugs
• You Did Drugs. What Do You Tell Your Kids When They Ask?