HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - It’s cheap, dangerous, and flowing into the United States from other countries.
Fentanyl is drastically killing more young people than ever before.
The DEA created a special exhibit called The Faces of Fentanyl in D.C. There are thousands of pictures of people who have died from the drug.
Shannon Doyle of Virginia Beach went to D.C. for a recent rally and to see her daughter’s picture on the wall.
“I don't even know how to describe it. It's just overwhelming and heartbreaking,” said Doyle. “This is killing an entire generation of people.”
Makayla Cox had just turned 16 years old and was a student at Ocean Lake High School when she died over eight months ago.
The CDC reports that over 107,000 people died last year from drug overdoses and 67 percent of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. They said many people did not realize they were taking the deadly drug.
“Too many young people are having their dreams dashed away from them because of the scourge of addiction. We want to go after those drug dealers that are selling this fentanyl that's poison to our kids and lock them up and get them off our streets, but we also want to get help for the struggle with addiction,” said Jason Miyares, the Virginia Attorney General.
That’s why 18 Attorney's General including Miyares sent a bipartisan multistate letter urging President Biden to classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
“Four Virginians lose their lives a day in Virginia to an overdose. It is horrific, what is happening in so many communities,” said Miyares.
“I don't know how you could not classify it as a weapon of mass destruction,” said Doyle.
A press release sent out by Miyares' office states, “This action would require the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration to coordinate a response with other agencies, including the Department of Defense—as opposed to the federal government only treating the substance as a narcotics control problem.”
They stated in the letter that enough fentanyl has been seized in the last year to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States several times over.
Fentanyl is the number one killer of adults aged 18-45, leaving too many parents left grieving.
“It hits me at different times throughout the day. I went to Walmart one day and was just getting food and past stuff that she would always ask for and I just started tearing up,” said Doyle.
For more information about the Faces of Fentanyl, click here.
