Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. This DEA photo shows 2 milligrams of the drug, which is a lethal dose for most people. | United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. This DEA photo shows 2 milligrams of the drug, which is a lethal dose for most people. | United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
With the number of overdose deaths across the state sharply on the rise, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office recently held an opioid symposium to address the crisis.
As one of the physicians who has dedicated himself to monitoring the ongoing crisis, Dr. Kevin Baldwin warns almost half of the illicitly manufactured fake prescription pills now flooding the streets contain deadly amounts of Fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine,” 50 times stronger than heroin," Baldwin told Fox5Atlanta.com.
As the problem has intensified, the Cobb County District Attorney has also been battling to get the crisis under control, recently taking steps to establish an Opioid Fatality Review panel that was wholly created to study what resources work and are needed in the community to regain control of the problem.
Missy Owen lost her son to a drug overdose. Still feeling the heartache, she has since started the Davis Direction Foundation to help fight substance abuse. Government data shows over a two-year period beginning in 2019 overdoses involving children ages 10 to 19 have jumped by 800 percent.
"That's an incredible increase in deaths in our young kids," she added.
Owen said she’s now concerned about rainbow Fentanyl now sweeping the area. The brightly colored pills have been seen across the metro Atlanta area.
"When you see things coming out that looks like candy, that becomes very concerning," she said.
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