The mood of the room shifted as a glass vial of two milligrams of sugar was passed around – the lethal amount of Fentanyl.
“I didn’t want to believe that was happening to my daughter, but it was,” Coppell parent Shawna Houle said. “It wasn’t until I had a conversation with her heart to heart and held her as she wanted to die again, because she overdosed three times, that I looked back at those patterns.”
On Saturday, the Cozby Library and Community Commons hosted Fentanyl in Coppell. The panel was composed of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assistant special agent W. Guy Baker, head Coppell ISD school resource officer Sgt. Byron Mitchell, Houle and Coppell Life Safety Park manager Bethany Everett.
The panel discussed the effects of Fentanyl on the body, warning signs in teenagers who may potentially use drugs and how Fentanyl is making its way into Coppell.
According to the panel, seven out of 10 DEA-tested pills with Fentanyl are potentially deadly. However, this fact does not deter users. According to Baker, people now know that what they are buying is Fentanyl. They have people around them available to administer Narcan, knowing they will most likely overdose.
With social media access, these pills are closer to Coppell than ever.
In Mesquite, the DEA busted a pill press run out of a garage, close to a middle school. This pill press appeared unassuming, containing childrens’ bikes and toys. But instead contained machines used to produce Fentanyl pills.
“This was just down the road,” Baker said. “These are all over the United States and in the jungles of Mexico. They have humongous commercial presses like you would see in an actual pharmaceutical company.”
The panel explained the danger of these pills, especially with teenagers. According to the DEA, ages 18 to 35 are the most targeted range of overdose deaths. The glorification of drug use through media like songs and movies makes drugs appealing to developing teens.
According to Baker, pills are commonly used because of their familiarity.
“A pill is not a very threatening thing,” Baker said. “Growing up, we’ve all taken aspirins and we’ve all taken vitamins. It’s not very alarming to take a pill unlike shooting something in your arm.”
According to Houle, developing teens using drugs often chase a high. After they get their first high, they have to experiment more to chase the same high they had the first time they took the drug.
Warning signs are loss of interest, neglecting hygiene and dissociating from family.
“I remember I would watch my daughter and she would be in this parking lot around Coppell for hours sitting there and I’d be like ‘What are you doing?” Houle said.
Houle’s daughter, like many other teen drug users, developed a codependent relationship with other users. The panel encourages parents to have open conversations with their teens about drugs.
“Teens are always going to have adverse behavior,” Houle said. “But it’s talking about this at the dinner table, it’s supporting our communities and those parents who may be struggling with children that are dabbling in this, and learning how to have a safe environment for them to come and talk.”
School resource officers provide a safe space for kids dealing with addiction. CISD also provides an anonymous reporting system, STOPit, so students and teachers can report possible student drug use.
“A lot of kids, they know to call and some of them don’t want to face the music,” Sgt. Mitchell said. “But a lot of the time it’s like when somebody hits a car, and they take off. They say ‘I was scared’, but you just shouldn’t have ran.”
The meeting was insightful for students and community members who attended to learn about the impact of Fentanyl on Coppell.
”Everyone just needs to talk about it, the main thing is to prevent people from taking drugs in the first place,” said Barbara Schenkel, a member of the Community Builders committee which planned the event. “You’re gambling with your life and everybody’s life is important because you are unique. You’ve never been here before and you’re never going to be here again.”
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