Ventura County launches new fentanyl awareness campaign urging the community to “Think Again”
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif.—It was an emotional and cathartic day for Lori Englander— who lost her son to a fentanyl overdose 2 years ago.
He was just 25 years old.
“He was my baby and nothing in my life will ever look the same again,” said the Moorpark mom.
But Englander’s son did not die in vain. her life’s greatest tragedy has propelled her to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.
And she’s doing this with a harm reduction philosophy.
“We need to understand that these kids are sick, that they need help, that they need to stop being treated like they're morally deficient because they're not. They just made a bad choice,” said Englander.
Parents say social media has made this illicit drug a lot more accessible, especially to teenagers.
“Social media allows kids now to have access to people that never would have been in their orbit before. They would have no clue how to get a hold of them. As I said, my son ordered it off Snapchat like DoorDash and they brought it to his work. It's that easy for them to get it,” said Englander.
Ventura County says 8 out of 10 drugs taken off the streets in Centura County contained fentanyl
That’s five times more than just five years ago.
“The primary source of fentanyl is coming from our Mexican border. The majority of the chemicals are coming from China. They're being shipped into South America where they're being packaged, made into pills. And now we're seeing a tremendous amount of powder,” said Sheriff Jim Fryhoff from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Ventura County’s new campaign asks people to “Think Again” before taking or distributing drugs.
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko says those who may be addicted to drugs can be diverted into a substance use treatment screening.
“They go to the screening, they meet with drug addiction experts. And the idea here is you've been diverted from criminal prosecution. Now that you're being screened, would you consider some type of services or some type of treatment option?” said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
The county has billboards up, and launched a website where people can get more information.
They also plan to send out mailers and post ads in the coming weeks.
