'Drugfished' PSA warns about the deadly disguises of fentanyl

JASON, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE CDC REPORTING THE NUMBER OF FENTANYL RELATED DEATHS IS ON THE RISE. YEAH, THE DEADLY DRUG IS A SYNTHETIC OPIOID UP TO 100 TIMES STRONGER THAN MORPHINE IN 2020. MORE THAN 56,000 PEOPLE DIED FROM OVERDOSES INVOLVING SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS. WVTM 13. JARVIS ROBERTSON IS LIVE IN CALHOUN COUNTY FOR US THIS AFTERNOON, TELLING US ABOUT THE DETAILS ABOUT A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT’S BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE DANGERS OF FENTANYL. JARVIS. YEAH, BRITNEY, IT’S CALLED DRUG FEST AND IT’S BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF THE HIT MTV SHOW CATFISH. NOW THE GOAL IS TO WARN EVERYONE THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU’RE GETTING ONE DRUG, THERE’S A POSSIBILITY IT’S GOING TO BE FENTANYL. IT BEGAN AIRING IN THE BEGINNING OF MAY. IT’S A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. WHY ARE WE AT A CEMETERY? WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU’VE BEEN DRUG FISHED. YOU’VE BEEN TALKING TO FENTANYL THIS WHOLE TIME. I’M SO SORRY. WITH THE STRAIGHTFORWARD MESSAGE ABOUT THE DEADLY DISGUISE OF FENTANYL. SO IN THE COMMERCIAL, IT’S OXY. BUT WHEN SHE GETS THERE AND REALIZES IT’S ACTUALLY FENTANYL, SHE’S BEEN TALKING TO THE WHOLE TIME, JUST LIKE FENTANYL IS MIXED INTO SUBSTANCES WITHOUT PEOPLE REALIZING IT. DEANNA MCELROY IS A PREVENTION SPECIALIST WITH THE AGENCY FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION. SHE SAYS OVERDOSE DEATHS ARE INCREASING IN CALHOUN COUNTY. SO IN 2021 WE KNOW THERE WERE 29 OVERDOSE DEATHS IN CALHOUN COUNTY. IN 2022, THERE WERE 52, AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM WERE FROM COMBINED OVERDOSES FROM ONE SUBSTANCE MIXED WITH FENTANYL, ACCORDING TO THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH. THERE WERE 835 FENTANYL RELATED DEATHS IN 2022 AND INCREASE MEDICAL WORK CALLS DEVASTATING IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE. I WOULD SAY 30S, 20S AND 30S. THAT AGE GROUP DEFINITELY IN CALHOUN COUNTY, PREDOMINANTLY MALES. THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION REPORTS SIX OUT OF TEN COUNTERFEIT PILLS POTENTIALLY CONTAINS A DEADLY DOSE OF FENTANYL. A SOBERING TRUTH JUST LIKE IN THE PSA. WHEN SHE ARRIVES AT THE CEMETERY. I THINK IT’S A REALITY CHECK. I THINK IT’S THE MOMENT WHERE YOU REALIZE THAT IF YOU DO FOLLOW DOWN THIS PATH, THIS IS WHERE YOU’RE GOING. THIS WILL BE WHERE YOU END UP. SO THE ENTIRE PSA IS ONLY 30S. I ALSO REACHED OUT TO THE CALHOUN COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE TO FIND OUT MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT OVERDOSES THIS YEAR AS OF RIGHT NOW, I HAVE NOT HEARD BACK REPORTING LIVE IN OXFORD, I’M JARVIS ROBER