The recent July 16 signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act into law is a huge win for American families and communities. It classifies fentanyl as a Schedule I drug as defined by the Controlled Substances Act. This increases the penalty for fentanyl related offenses, imposing a mandatory minimum 10-year prison term. This will provide new deterrence to dealing fentanyl and keep dealers off the streets.
Why is this such a big win for parents, families, and communities?
Fentanyl overdose is the number one cause of death for Americans 18-45, impacting families and communities across the country every day. In 2024, there were 80,391 reported deaths from drug overdose in the U.S.; over half of those, 48,422, were the result of fentanyl and/or its analogues.
Despite its far reaching and devastating impacts, many Americans today primarily associate fentanyl overdose with the results of deliberate (albeit motivated by addiction) illicit drug use. While tragic, Americans can wrongly dismiss it as unlikely to impact their family if no one is a struggling addict. However, this is often not the case; unexpected fentanyl overdose can have a sudden impact on anyone, any family, and any community.
A reported 31.9% of teens aged 13 to 18 deal with anxiety disorders, and teens with untreated anxiety disorders are at a higher risk for engaging in substance abuse in order to cope. According to a 2022 study from the CDC, only 27.5% of teens reported that they always receive the social and emotional support they need while 76.9% of parents reported that they believed that their teens did always have the social and emotional support they need.
Whether the cause of this discrepancy is parents not paying enough attention to their children, or children deliberately hiding their struggles from their parents, it highlights a significant point: parents are often completely unaware that their teens are struggling.
Anxiety, depression, and mental illness can cause people to make rash and out of character decisions, often motivated by desperation, fear, panic, and embarrassment. Especially for teens, peer pressure can also be a factor in seeking out solutions they ordinarily would not pursue. This is where fentanyl can be especially and unexpectedly dangerous.
Xanax, the brand name for the drug Alprazolam, is one of the most popular prescription anxiety medications on the market. Under the right circumstances – and a legitimate prescription, it can help provide relief.
However, In the last ten years, a disturbing trend of counterfeit pills laced with – or entirely made of – fentanyl has emerged. Xanax has become one of most common drugs for recreation with illicit synthetic opioids. Whether motivated by perceived embarrassment of consulting with a parent or doctor, ease of availability, or another factor, teens looking for relief are turning to pills coming from unverified sources.
In 2015, at least one person died and eight more were hospitalized in San Francisco after taking fake Xanax pills laced with fentanyl. A report by Dr. Ann Arens who was working at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital at the time of the incident said that the counterfeit pills “looked very similar to prescription Xanax, down to bearing the same pharmaceutical markings as the legitimate anxiety drug. … The users that were exposed to these tablets had no idea it was anything other than what they thought they were buying.”
In 2019, 24-year-old Travis Jacobson acquired Xanax from someone he knew from high school in order to be relaxed before an important job interview he was supposed to have the next day. He never made it to the interview. He was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment the next day. Cause of death: fentanyl overdose.
Similarly, in Hollywood, Florida, 21-year-old Melissa Hernandez bought what she believed to be Xanax on the street, which lead to her 2021 death from fentanyl overdose. “She was a very good student. She really liked drawing and art. She was really popular in high school,” her father said.
These are just a few tragic instances of the many cases like them occurring across the nation. Although a common example, the counterfeit pill crisis is not limited to Xanax. There have been examples of counterfeit aspirin, Aleve, and Adderall, among many others.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, “In 2024, the DEA seized more than 60 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 8,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. The 2024 seizures are equivalent to more than 380 million lethal doses of fentanyl. The 2025 fentanyl seizures represent over 193 million deadly doses.”
Fentanyl overdose can touch any family, any community, and any type of person.
So, what more can be done to protect our kids, friends, and communities? While the HALT Fentanyl Act is an exciting step, it deals with the problem once it is already here. A crisis of this scale must also be attacked at the root.
What really is at the root of the problem? Check back soon for part two in this series to examine additional solutions to the fentanyl crisis.
Related articles and resources:
Resources: Substance Abuse & Addiction
The Opioid Epidemic—Think Your Family Is Immune?
Offering Hope to Families Experiencing Drug Addiction
Helping Kids Avoid Opioid Addiction
New Law Increases Penalties for Manufacturing, Distributing Fentanyl
Nation Fentanyl Awareness Day Highlights Rates of Unintentional Overdoses in Young People
Photo from Getty Images.
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