Fentanyl Becoming Increasing Problem In Oklahoma

The Drug Enforcement Administration says more fentanyl pills are coming into the state, and more people are dying from fentanyl poisoning.

Whitney Ruggles lost her 15-year-old son Hunter Hamilton to fentanyl poisoning in 2021.

She says it’s important to sit down with your kids and talk about the dangers of experimenting with drugs on the street- because even one time, taking the wrong thing could kill them.

Ruggles says it’s devastating to see how common stories like his are becoming.

"You never think that it's going to be your kid at all,” said Ruggles. “But nowadays it's in everything, it's in everywhere. And it's just so much easier to get ahold of now. There's Snapchat; there's all kinds of social medias."

The DEA says in the past year, seven out of every ten pills they tested have come back positive for fentanyl.

Jon Pullen is in charge of the DEA for the state of Oklahoma and says this is a problem on a scale never been seen before- mainly because of how easy it is to take.

"As Americans, we take pills for high cholesterol, whatever it is,” said Pullen. “It's so normal for us to take a pill. That's what is making it easier for people to think about using drugs because you're just swallowing a pill as opposed to sticking a needle in your arm to shoot up heroin."

Pullen says another issue is how quickly people can get access to these pills.

He hopes families will talk about this problem instead of shying away from it.

"This time of year is a great time for people to talk to their kids, talk to their high schoolers, talk to their college kids who are coming home from school about the dangers of these pills,” said Pullen. “People need to have hard conversations with their family."

Ruggles says she will continue to fight to make sure other families do not have to suffer the same terrible loss she has.

"We go to different high schools, middle schools, there's church events that we've gone to, we just want to spread awareness,” said Ruggles. “Educate the kids and families so that we don't have to go to any more funerals. They don't have to feel the same way we feel."

Lots of places now offer free testing kits so people can test their pills before they take them to see if they contain any fentanyl.

For more information about real and fake pills, you can visit this website.

Ruggles hopes schools will allow groups like the one she is part of, Families Supporting Families, to talk at schools and educate kids about the dangers of fentanyl.