Fentanyl is a deadly epidemic that is taking the lives of too many people in Hampton Roads and across the entire country.
Parents like Carolyn Weems know the excruciating pain that drugs can cause for a family after losing her daughter to heroin 10 years ago.
Weems, a Virginia Beach School Board member, is also an advocate and fighting to make change in the community.
The D.E.A. reports that there were over 415,000 pills seized in 2023 in Virginia, which was a 260 percent increase from the previous year.
The Virginia Health Department reports fentanyl caused or contributed to death in almost 76% of all fatal overdoses in the state in 2022.
“I'm frustrated because I think that we talk a lot, but our actions are way behind our talk in this particular crisis,” said Weems.
Weems is focused on getting a recovery school to the Hampton Roads region that would help young people struggling with addiction.
The drug crisis is keeping the D.E.A. busy.
Jarod Forget is the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division for the D.E.A.
“It's frightening to me when we have a 260 increase, truly a surge in the amount of fentanyl,” said Forget.
The DEA reports that fentanyl is being sent from China to Mexico and finding its way into your neighborhood through a number of different ways.
“Members of the Mexican cartels are in the Hampton Roads,” said Forget. “We're working investigations. We've been able to target, identify and really map out where those cartel members are and their associates in Virginia.”
He said people are buying drugs off the dark web and social media - along with many other ways - and people are transporting the drugs by trucks, ships and any other way they can.
Forget said the D.E.A. is also seeing a significant rise in drugs being shipped through the mail.
Packages containing hundreds of fentanyl pills turned up in a major drug bust in Virginia Beach, according to federal documents.
Authorities were watching the mail and report about 70 packages, sent over the course of a two-year period, were sent from California to homes in Virginia Beach.
When they executed a search warrant, they found thousands of dollars and over 4,000 fentanyl pills.
A California man remains held in a local jail - another with several other unnamed suspects.
“Many of these organizations are run like businesses. They want to attract customers with a stronger, potent, worse product like fentanyl. They're going to drive more addiction and make more money,” said Forget.
The CDC reports 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“It’s one of the leading issues in our nation and certainly in Virginia. It's the leading cause of death for 18 to 45-year-olds and so one thing that we can do as a nation… raise awareness, have discussions with your family,” said Forget.
Weems said she can’t go to church, any event or group setting without people sharing their personal stories about a loved one with a drug problem.
“It's pretty much impacting everybody,” said Weems.
