In December 2021, 20-year-old Kade Webb died in a Safeway bathroom after ordering Percocet on Snapchat. What he got instead was spiked with a lethal amount of fentanyl.
Two days before Christmas 2019, 20-year-old Alexandra Capelouto bought oxycodone pills on Snapchat. The oxy was instead counterfeits packed with 5x the fatal dose of fentanyl. Her mom found Alexandra dead the next morning.
In response to Alexandra’s death, (now former) Sen. Melissa Melendez (R) introduced legislation that would have provided an advisory notifying convicted drug dealers their actions can kill. As KUSI explains, a judge would warn dealers that should they be convicted again and kill someone, prosecutors may charge them with manslaughter or murder (just like drunk driving fatalities are already treated).
Democrats on the Senate Public Safety Committee killed the bill. The committee chairman, Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) listened to grieving parents with stories like Kade’s and Alexandra’s and then said: “What’s missing is the level of culpability from the user. This is about drug use… we know there is inherent risk in doing so.”
The guy straight up blamed the dead kids in front of their parents without a word about the dealers.
That’s cold.
So, what can we do? Here are a few thoughts.
First, take personal responsibility. We own our actions. But it doesn’t mean you can always handle a situation alone. If you need help, ask for help from friends or a professional.
Second, talk with your kids. There’s a darkly instructive warning that needs to be communicated: #ExpectFentanyl. We have to talk to our kids about the dangers of taking any non-prescribed drug.
Third, go purchase Naloxone (Narcan) at a pharmacy like Walgreens (no prescription necessary). It’s an opioid antidote that can reverse an overdose.
Fourth, get your city to also pass a resolution like Newport Beach’s supporting efforts to eliminate the threat of fentanyl (kudos to Joe Stapleton for carrying ours forward).
And fifth, we have got to stop electing jackasses to our state legislature who blame dead kids more than drug dealers.
