A new report from Families Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about the opioid, shows that children under 14 are dying of fentanyl poisoning at a faster rate than any other age group. The report on fentanyl deaths, which is based on an analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that between 2019 and 2021, deaths caused by fentanyl poisonings among U.S. children under 14 years old increased faster than in any other age group.
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Infant Fentanyl Deaths
According to the report, infant deaths caused by fentanyl increased twice as fast between 2019 and 2021. The number of deaths among toddlers between the ages of 1 and 4 more than tripled, and deaths among children between the ages of 5 and 14 nearly quadrupled. Many of these deaths occurred as a result of the children ingesting the drug without their knowledge, as people are taking pills, such as at parties, without realizing that the pills are counterfeit and heavily laced with fentanyl.
Fentanyl Test Strips
The CDC has endorsed the use of fentanyl test strips, a product originally created to test for fentanyl in urine after a person has already digested the drug, but some states consider them as drug paraphernalia and thus illegal. However, these test strips may not always tell you how much fentanyl is present, so it’s crucial for parents to talk to their children about drug use and the dangers of taking illegal drugs.
Keith is a retired Police Sergeant, working his entire 29 year career in the San Francisco Bay Area. Keith is a recipient of the prestigious California’s Narcotics Officer of the Year Award and is a prior winner of MADD’s California Hero Award. He has years of experience as a Narcotics Detective and a Narcotics Unit Supervisor and is a Drug Recognition Expert Instructor (IACP #3292). Keith has developed several courses for the Department of Defense, California Narcotics Officers Association, and California POST, and numerous police agencies and private corporations.
Keith has held other assignments besides narcotics including Training Sergeant, Patrol Sergeant, COPPS Officer, Traffic Officer, and 20 years as a SWAT Team member and Sniper Team Leader. Keith has taught thousands of officers and businesses around the world about drug use, drug trends, compliance training and drug investigations. Keith is also the founder of Christian Warrior Training, where he provides free resources and training to church security ministries. He is recognized as an international drug expert and has testified as an expert in court proceedings on drug cases, homicide cases and rape prosecutions. Keith earned a BA in Business Management from Saint Mary’s College of California and a MA in Criminal Justice. Keith is the Founder and President of Graves & Associates, a company dedicated to providing drug training to law enforcement, the Department of Defense, and private industry internationally. You can follow Keith on social media on Facebook (DopeCop and DrugEnforcementCops), twitter (DopeCop) and Instagram (DrugEnforcementCops).
