After 2 teens die of fentanyl overdoses, leaders uninformed, experts say

A panel of addiction experts called on the community to pay closer attention to the rise of opioid addiction.

On Thursday, June 2, a drug addiction panel organized by a congressional candidate, Gina Ciarcia, met at Grace Baptist Church on Spriggs Road in Woodbridge. James “Chips” Stewart, who worked under Presidents Ronald Regan and George H.W. Bush as the head of the National Institute of Justice, lost his 47-year-old son to opioid addiction.

“Opioids are a powerful drug, and there’s no telling what’s going to happen when you take a power drug,” said Stewart. “This is a much more powerful drug than heroin.”

According to Stewart, opioid deaths in the U.S. have been rising since 1999, topping more than 108,000 people killed in 2021 — a 1,250% increase in about 20 years. “It’s an epidemic that’s right under our noses,” he added.

In April, two Prince William County teens died from opioid overdoses, in two different houses, within 24 hours. The teens took Percocet laced with deadly fentanyl.

Stewart says most children and teens don’t buy opioids from a dealer on the street. Instead, the drugs are commonly purchased from Chinese companies on the internet and delivered via FedEx and UPS in brown envelopes.

A trend by prosecutors to prosecute drug offenses has only made the problem worse, added Stewart, a former Oakland, Calif. cop. Before becoming a White House fellow, he was the head of the city’s police criminal investigations unit.

Drugs use leads to people committing crimes to afford to purchase the poisons, said Stewart. Many inmates he interviewed while behind bars said they were high when they committed crimes.

“Congress needs to be better informed, but they’re too busy raising funds and focusing on re-election, so many are informed about the drug epidemic from their staff members,” he added.

The opioid epidemic continues to impact our nation. A growing area of concern here in Fairfax County is fatal and nonfatal overdoses involving youth.

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A panelist called herself “Vee” and asked to remain anonymous, saying her son spent 18 months recovering from opioid addiction. Her family spent more than $50,000 seeking help for her family and accused doctors of being quick to prescribe opioids to treat injuries, which led to addiction.

“For treatment, this disease isn’t just a 28-day program that insurance pays for,” she said.

Mike Van Meter, a former FBI agent who teaches law enforcement about addiction, said everyone knows someone who has been affected by drug or alcohol addiction. “There is nothing more important today than addiction, but we don’t talk about it,” said Van Meter.

Van Meter said marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to other drug use. He challenged audience members to question leaders elected to the Virginia General Assembly who worked to decriminalize and is working to legalize pot use. Since marijuana isn’t legal at the federal level, state lawmakers are doing young people a disserve, he warns.

“The idea of legalizing marijuana is a myth. There are career opportunities with the Federal Government and the military that will be shut down because our [state] government officials haven’t been honest,” said VanMetre.

Ciarcia, one of six seeking the Republican Party nomination in a June 21 Primary Election in Virginia’s 7th congressional district, called the drug epidemic “fentanyl poisoning.” She says Congress needs to secure the U.S. southern border, the source for most illegal drugs flowing into the U.S., and stand up to the drug cartels and the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] pushing drugs into the country.

“If we’re going to use federal money to address the issue, then we need to address it as our children’s lives depend on it because they do,” said Ciarcia.