Mothers who lost children to fentanyl poisonings demand action on drug crisis: 'Most serious issue' US faces

Mothers who lost their children to fentanyl overdoses are raising awareness on the drug crisis on Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, demanding action as overdose deaths surge. 

Andrea Thomas, Amy Neville, and Lauri Badura joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" to discuss the severity of the ongoing crisis and their message to other affected families. 

"This is the biggest crisis I think we've ever faced as a nation," Badura told co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. "My son was 19 years old, and it was 2014, so this is really when fentanyl wasn't even talked about. It was a substance that was laced, and he had no idea that he was not going to wake up and that he was going to die."

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Badura lost her son, Archie, to a fentanyl overdose in 2014. 

"My plea today is not just to parents, it is to the public," she continued. "This is something that we need to do as a country."

Thomas lost her daughter, Ashley, to a half of one pill back in 2018. She called the fentanyl crisis a "public health crisis" and the most serious issue plaguing America today. 

"This drug is purposely made to be deceptive and highly addictive, and together across America, hundreds of hundreds of affected families are coming together for events across the country to reach the public and warn them about the dangers of illicit fentanyl," Thomas said. 

"We're also reaching out to the president today to ask him, we are pleading with him to address the national security crisis that fentanyl has brought into our country," she continued. "As affected families we can address to prevention, we can go out there and bring awareness, but we can't stop the flood offense and all that is coming into our country."

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Neville lost her 14-year-old son Alexander to an overdose back in 2020. She said his pandemic-related boredom led him to "experiment with drugs."

Alexander went to his parents seeking help for his battle with addiction. Neville said they called for help, and he took a pill that ultimately ended his life that same night. 

"My message to parents is that we are living in a time when you do not have to have a traditional drug problem or suffer from substance use disorder or to die from drugs," Neville said. "They are dying because they are inexperienced users. They're being deceived to death by these drug dealers who they believe are their friends."

"These dealers are grooming these kids through social media channels such as Snapchat," she continued.