Neighbor News
Continue the discussions about the dangers of street drugs
Xanax use is common on college campuses, and with fall approaching, now is the time to have this conversation with your child.
Our son, Jake Beddoe, died on May 27th at the age of 25 after taking a street Xanax unknowingly laced with Fentanyl.
You may not have heard much about Fentanyl, but you need to. Fentanyl is a legally prescribed drug 50-100 times more powerful than Morphine. It's also an attractive and profitable additive used by illegal distributors of counterfeit Xanax.
Why should you care? Thousands are dying when they take a non-prescribed Xanax pill which has been laced with Fentanyl. So many who have died are not regular drug users or addicts but rather everyday folks like you and me. Xanax is a highly effective, widely prescribed medication to treat anxiety and induce sleep. There are over 25 million prescriptions written every year, so naturally it’s accompanied by a growing illicit market. This illicit market is in the backyard of Trumbull and throughout American neighborhoods. Many have taken a pill received from someone they know, at a party, or ordered online through a bogus pharmacy, thinking it's safe.
Find out what's happening in Trumbullfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Jake was a UCONN grad, served in the Peace Corps, and was working in the travel industry when he temporarily moved back home from Boston to quarantine with his family. Feeling the pressures of his work due to COVID-19, he was looking to get a good night’s sleep. Jake had no reason to believe that quarter Xanax bar he took would tragically end his life.
Young adults believe they are invincible. Many take Adderall and Xanax in college to help with studies, anxiety and sleep. We have the power to help by educating, mentoring, and supporting them. The more they know, the less likely they may be to take a risk that could kill them.
Find out what's happening in Trumbullfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Our message is an appeal to you: Continue talking with your kids about the danger of taking street drugs. Only take doctor-prescribed pills from a local pharmacy. Do not trust pills from anywhere else as there is a chance that just one of them is pressed illegally and contains a few specs of deadly Fentanyl. Xanax use is common on college campuses, and with fall approaching, now is the time to have this conversation with your child. Please tell them to know with certainty what they are putting into their bodies - so that you will never have to experience the unimaginable pain and horror of losing your child.
Niki & Wally Beddoe