DEA Houston Field Division Partners with Houston Area School Districts to alert parents on the dangers of fentanyl
HOUSTON - Amid the growing fentanyl epidemic, the Drug Enforcement Administration Houston Field Division created an initiative to educate the youth and parents on the threat of fentanyl through partnering with several area school districts. DEA Houston Field Division, in partnership with Friendswood ISD, Pearland ISD, Clear Creek ISD, Alvin ISD, the Bay Area Alliance, UTMB Health, Prevention Resources Center, I45 now, and The Council on Recovery Prevention Resource Center, will be hosting a Fentanyl Poisoning Parent Informational Summit at the Friendswood Junior High Auditorium,1000 Manison Parkway, Friendswood, TX, on Wednesday, Jan 25 at 6:30 pm. Over 100 parents have registered for the event and are expected to be in attendance.
In addition to the forum, the DEA Houston Field Division have produced several fentanyl awareness videos in both English and Spanish that participating districts will broadcast within the district.
At the end of 2022, the DEA Houston Field Division announced its fentanyl seizures for the year. The DEA Laboratory estimates that these seizures represent more than 7 million deadly doses of fentanyl which could potentially kill everyone living in the Houston-Metropolitan area.
Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat facing this country. It is a highly addictive man-made opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, the small amount that fits on the tip of a pencil, is considered a potentially deadly dose.
Most of the fentanyl trafficked by the Sinaloa and CJNG Cartels is being mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico with chemicals sourced largely from China. In 2021, the DEA issued a Public Safety Alert on the widespread drug trafficking of fentanyl in the form of fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills. These pills are made to look identical to real prescription medications—including OxyContin®, Percocet®, and Xanax®—but only contain filler and fentanyl, and are often deadly. Fake pills are readily found on social media. No pharmaceutical pill bought on social media is safe. The only safe medications are ones prescribed directly to you by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.
Just last month, DEA alerted the public to a sharp nationwide increase in the lethality of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills. DEA laboratory testing in 2022 revealed that six out of ten fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. This is an increase from DEA’s announcement in 2021 that four out of ten fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contain a potentially deadly dose.
In 2022, DEA nationwide seized more than double the amount of fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills that it seized in 2021. DEA also seized nearly 131,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 4,300 pounds of heroin, and over 444,000 pounds of cocaine. DEA is now providing a regularly updated counter at http://www.dea.gov to track approximate amounts of fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder seized by DEA.
DEA has created a Faces of Fentanyl memorial to commemorate the lives lost from fentanyl poisoning. To submit a photo of a loved one lost to fentanyl, please send their name, age, and photograph to fentanylawareness@dea.gov, or post a photo and their name to social media using the hashtag #JustKNOW.
