CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — It's been called the deadliest drug threat facing our country. But how big of an issue is it here in Virginia?
READ: DEA - Facts About Fentanyl
News 3 Investigator Zak Dahlheimer went in-depth on this issue speaking with law enforcement, lawmakers, and families impacted by this, including his own.
‘We’re living one day at a time.’
When Zak’s cousin, Virginia Beach native Joe Dahlheimer, comes to Charlottesville, Virginia, memories of his son, James, jump into his mind.
James was bright, hopeful, positive, a stellar athlete, smart, funny, and most importantly, inclusive.
“One of the things [James] used to do is make people,” Joe Dahlheimer said. “He would take someone who's outside of a group, he would become friends with them, and then, after a small amount of time, he would bring him into a group, so they'd have a large group of friends. Then, he would go find another person.”
But this past December, Joe got a call that would change their family.
“He made a mistake, and he paid for it with his life,” Joe said.
According to Joe, James, who was 28 years old, died of fentanyl poisoning.
“He was taking a counterfeit pill, and he was, perhaps, self-medicating,” Joe said. “It was a shock. It was disbelief. You don't really have a plan. You don't really know what you're supposed to do.”
Since James’s death, Joe and others have felt love and support from those close to his son.
They’ve also been raising awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit pills.
“When you think about your family, you see them as a puzzle,” Joe said. “When I think about James, the part that's light. The part that brought us all together. The part that was joyful. For our family, that's not there anymore. It will never be there, and our family will never be the same because of that.”
How deadly is fentanyl?
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
So how deadly is fentanyl?
The DEA says just 2 milligrams of the drug is considered a lethal dose. That’s equal to 10 to 15 grains of table salt.
Data News 3 obtained from the Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH) fatal drug overdose quarterly report published last October states, "Fatal drug overdose has been the leading method of unnatural death in Virginia since 2013."
Quarterly Drug Death Report FINAL Q2 2022 by WTKR on Scribd
The data adds that fentanyl caused or contributed to death in more than 76 percent of all fatal overdoses in 2021.
‘You have to have consequences for dealing death.’
“I think it's disgusting,” Portsmouth mother Elizabeth Ripley told News 3.
Ripley along with Kristen Toll and Donna Haynes are a few Hampton Roads mothers whose sons also died from fentanyl poisoning.
“Imagine walking in, and seeing your child laying on the floor, and there's nothing you can do,” Ripley said. “It has basically torn my family apart.”
READ: Portsmouth mother raises awareness about fentanyl poisoning after son's death
Last year, the three shared their individual stories with News 3's Ellen Ice.
READ: Gloucester mother crusades for awareness after son dies of fentanyl poisoning
This year, they continue pushing for change, compassion, and support for families.
“Fentanyl poisoning is basically murder,” Haynes said. “In our opinion, our boys were murdered.”
“You have to have consequences for dealing death,” Kristen Toll added.
“I think that people seeing the reality of what it really, truly does to the families and the people that are affected by it is what needs to be seen,” Ripley said.
How is fentanyl getting to Virginia?
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has been keeping tabs on what he calls a “crisis” in the Commonwealth.
“We're losing four to seven Virginians a day to opioid and fentanyl overdoses,” Miyares told News 3. “Fentanyl is showing up in everything. It's showing up in marijuana. It's showing up in heroin. But it's also showing up in fake, counterfeit Percocet pills [and] Xanax pills.”
So how does fentanyl get to Virginia?
Miyares said chemicals are being exported from China and coming through cartels over the U.S. southern border.
“It'll come from a package company, and it can be something about the size of a shoebox,” said Albemarle County, Virginia Police Sgt. Sean Hackney. “We just had one of these recently, we opened it up, and there were 9,000 fentanyl pills in there. Pre-pressed, individually wrapped, [and] individually packaged.”
Hackney also serves on a Virginia State Police task force that investigates how fentanyl gets into our state and how overdoses happen.
“Oftentimes, when they think they're getting, let's say, a prescription medication, such as a Percocet or some other opioid, that's what they think they're getting, but the market is full of fentanyl pills,” Hackney said. “It's cheap. It's, to the untrained eye, it's hard to detect just by looking at the pill. And, unfortunately, it can kill you so quickly, I can't even compare it to another drug that we investigate.”
“We're talking about a commercial operation here,” Hackney added. “This isn't somebody down in their basement with a bag of Cheetos making these things. This is somebody actually making them, sending them, and selling them knowing what they are.”
But what's being done to try and curb illegal fentanyl from Virginia?
“I want to see the actions,” Ripley said. “I don't want to hear the talk. I want to see the actions. Where's the action?”
'One Pill Can Kill'
“We're going to aggressively go after drug dealers,” Sgt. Hackney said. “I'm not talking about people on the street corners that are using. We're talking about the people that are sometimes bringing in thousands of pills or large quantities of powdered fentanyl.”
“These are people that are making money off of people dying,” Hackney added. “You have someone that can't even spell the word chemistry, and they're going to try and mix up something, and then give it safely away? No. That's disaster written all over it.”
Hackney said fentanyl is an overwhelming problem throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“It reaches all socio-economic groups,” Hackney said. “I've got cases ranging from 17-year-olds all the way up to people in their 60s and 70s.”
He said their task force includes federal partners to help with surveillance and getting the poison out of hands.
“With our federal partners, we're monitoring shipping. A lot of time, these people send this stuff in the mail,” Hackney said. “A lot of times, when we investigate these overdose cases, yes, we're able to check people's electronics. We're able to talk to informants. We're also able to, believe it or not, talk to drug dealers. We even see where drug dealers will turn and rat out other drug dealers because of this fentanyl problem because it kills people.”
Meanwhile, at the state level, Miyares launched the 'One Pill Can Kill' public awareness initiative last November.
WATCH: Virginia AG Jason Miyares - 'One Pill Can Kill'
The move involved creating a radio and TV public service announcement (PSA) and sparking conversations among families about the threat counterfeit drugs and opioids pose while emphasizing prevention and rehabilitation.
“They don't realize what they're taking, or they're getting into that cycle of addiction,” Miyares said.
Fentanyl crackdown in Richmond
Delegate Tim Anderson, who represents parts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk in Virginia’s 83rd District, has taken the fight against fentanyl to Richmond.
“We have to, as lawmakers, treat this as what it is, which is one of the biggest threats to our youth,” said Anderson.
During the 2023 General Assembly session, Del. Anderson introduced HB 1455, which, if passed, would state anyone who sells, gives, or distributes substances containing two milligrams or more of fentanyl to another person, without the recipient knowing it, is guilty of attempted first-degree murder by poison.
“These are not junkies that we're talking about. These are real people's children that are raised in good homes and are in colleges, have jobs, are productive, and they go out, they make a mistake, and are dead,” Anderson said. “Our citizens in Virginia are dying in huge numbers because of what's happening, and we've got to treat these drug dealers with what they are, which is murderers.”
Meanwhile, Joe Dahlheimer is inspired by actions being pursued in Richmond.
“This is something that we've got to get in front of young people and educate them,” Joe said. “I think most of life's problems are communication issues. The first thing we need to do is get people aware that one pill will kill.”
The same goes for Ripley, whose son, Michael, died about a year and a half ago.
“I think that the law uses situations to prove a point to other people,” Ripley said. “I believe that this is a situation where they need to start proving a point, that they're not going to put up with it anymore, the families are tired of it, and it's got to change.”
As for officers like Hackney, he said their mission is to push on prevention.
“If somebody needs help, get them help,” Hackney said.
Meanwhile, Joe is looking to continue fighting for other families to prevent anyone else from going through pain and change.
“We know we have a responsibility to create awareness,” Joe said. “We know we have a responsibility to speak out. But we’re on a day-to-day basis right now, [and] we're just not ready to think about what it takes to do that, and I know we'll get there.”
What’s next?
After our interview, Del. Anderson’s bill, HB 1455, passed in the House but did not make it out of the Virginia Senate’s Judiciary Committee.
Shortly after the move, Del. Anderson sent this statement in part to News 3:
“The Senate refused to advance HB 1455 to give prosecutors a tool to appropriately prosecute drug dealers selling counterfeit pills,” Anderson said. “We must continue to treat fentanyl for what it is – poison. Those selling it should be charged with murder. We will pick this up again next year.”
Macaulay Porter, a spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also released a statement to News 3 regarding the move on HB 1455:
“The governor is disappointed that Senate Democrats refused to pass a bill that would save lives. Democrats failed to put Virginians first and they chose to stand with fentanyl dealers over victims’ families.”
News 3 reached out to the co-chairs of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Creigh Deeds, for a statement on this vote. News 3 is still waiting to hear back from both state senators.
Upon the conclusion of the 2023 General Assembly session, Miyares spoke out on passed legislation he supported, including HB 1682/SB 1188.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, this legislation amends the terrorism statute to add all forms of fentanyl as a weapon of terrorism and the knowing and intentional manufacture and distribution of fentanyl as a Class 4 felony.
According to Virginia law, penalties related to a Class 4 felony range from 2-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
This past Saturday, Miyares released the following statement:
“Once again, the oldest continually operating legislative body in the western hemisphere has concluded their regular legislative session. For the second year, my office has successfully advocated for important legislation that will improve the lives of Virginians. We maintained our commitment to ensuring victims always come first, holding criminals accountable, strengthening public safety laws to keep our communities safe, further curbing distribution of lethal fentanyl, fighting organized retail crime, and providing accountability and transparency to the Parole Board. I look forward to seeing these bills signed into law by Governor Youngkin.”
According to the DEA, if you encounter fentanyl in any form, do not handle it and call 911 immediately.
READ: UC Davis Health - Can fentanyl be absorbed through your skin?
Meanwhile, if you or someone you know is facing either mental or substance use disorders, you can call the 24/7 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
