Mother of fentanyl victim delivers dire warning to families: 'This does not discriminate'
Erin Rachwal, a mother whose 19-year-old son died after a fentanyl poisoning, offers advice to parents on educating their children about the dangers of the deadly drug.
As adolescent fentanyl deaths continue to rise, a Wisconsin mom warned families of the ever-emerging dangers of poisonings plaguing colleges across the nation Tuesday after losing her 19-year-old son to the deadly drug.
"This does not discriminate at all," Erin Rachwal told "America's Newsroom," adding, "Fentanyl has changed the game."
Rachwal told host Dana Perino that families should stop thinking the tragedy could never happen to them, especially considering the drug's presence has become so widespread and even worked its way into small towns and communities.
The DEA seized 32,000 fake pills made to look like legitimate prescription pills on July 8th and 9th in Omaha, Nebraska. (DEA)
"We were like the normal, happy family… we did tons of things with our kids. We had two boys, and Logan was a very vulnerable kid. We were on top of this very quickly with him," she continued.
"What's happening in America right now is fentanyl is being laced, it's being put into anything, so no longer can we say ‘Just be careful or this won’t happen to my family.'"
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A man reads an alert on fentanyl before being interviewed by John Jay College of Criminal Justice students as part of a project to interview Bronx drug users in order to compile data about overdoses on August 8, 2017 in New York City. (Spencer Platt)
Rachwal warned that the crisis has permeated every college and community across the nation, increasing the likelihood that anyone could fall victim to its effects.
"What I can say to parents is there's only so much you can do, but you do need to educate your children. You need to have open conversations at a very young age. We're working at the college and high school level, but this conversation needs to start much earlier," she said.
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"Kids learn so much when they're young, and that's when we teach them to not cross the street without looking both ways. Those are the times when we need to start talking to kids about not taking anything unless it comes from your home, your doctor, your prescription…" she added.