GLENDALE, AZ — With billboards along Interstate 10 and law enforcement busts shared on social media, fentanyl has become hard to ignore in Arizona.
Glendale Independence High School hosted a panel put on by the Maricopa County Attorney’s office on how prominent the drug has become, the warning signs that someone is using, and that one pill can kill.
Never once did Kim Humphrey suspect his 15-year-old son was using drugs until another parent called him and said they suspected something was up.
“Even though I had a law enforcement background, even though I knew the signs he was really good at hiding it,” said Humphrey.
When Humphrey tested his son for opioids, the positive test started a 10-year addiction battle for his oldest son.
His youngest son would face the same struggles with drugs and Humprhey says his sons were in and out of the hospital regularly.
“His friends would just drop him off at the hospital,” Humphrey told the audience. “At one point he almost lost his arm due to an abscess,” he later told us in a one-on-one.
Humphrey's story was just one example of how drugs, and specifically fentanyl are uprooting lives in Arizona.
Tuesday’s presentation sought to let families know one blue or even colorful pill – can kill.
“If they’re a new user they probably don’t get a chance to become addicted to it,” said Stephanie Siete with the FBI
She was part of the panel of drug experts and law enforcement who told families that when someone takes a pain killer that is 100 times stronger than Morphine or 50 times more potent than heroin. She said your brain becomes overwhelmed causing organs to slow down, and they could start to fail.
The amount of fentanyl in each pill is unknown, but they’re abundant with nearly 20 million pills seized in Arizona as of September 6 of this year, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Fentanyl cases in Phoenix alone have skyrocketed since 2017, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Fentanyl cases in the past five years:
2017 = 42
2018 = 244
2019 = 1,262
2020 = 3,036
2021 = 4,603
Police officers on the panel say drug dealers are prominent on social media, using emojis on what’s offered.
”A bar of chocolate 🍫 is like a bar of Xanax, that’s another emoji,” said officer Matt Long.
On warning signs, Long said he’s encountered fentanyl users who are standing up sleeping.
He told families to look for “the nod” as if someone is sleeping.
The drug can cause users' eyes to stay open.
Another indicator of someone using drugs would be finding a metal straw. The straw can be used to help smoke or snort the crushed-up pills.
As terrifying as it all may be for families, Humphrey shared he continued to seek help for his sons until they beat their years of addiction.
His oldest now helps others recover from their addiction battle as a clinical outreach specialist at Cornerstone Healing Center.
Humphrey is the executive director of Parents of Addicted Loved Ones.
He says for a while he thought his sons may not survive, but recently he’s been able to welcome grandchildren into the world.
“I’m thankful every day that my son survived, I’m grateful, people do survive”
