You Are Not Alone
Our purpose is to help people of all ages navigate life. As a mother and son team, Debbie and Greg come together to talk about the realities and struggles all of us face in today’s world. They cover a wide array of topics from mental health to current events to teaching on topics that help us do life. As Christians, they know there is one thing that brings peace, hope, and encouragement to anything life throws at us, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Come along on the ride to learn what this means and how to get it. Your heart and life will be changed forever!
You Are Not Alone
Confronting America's Deadliest Drug Crisis: Fentanyl and Now Fentanyl + Xylazine
Uncover the stark realities of America's deadliest drug threat with Debbie Gold and me, Greg, as we dissect the fentanyl crisis that's gripping the nation. Your ears won't believe the harrowing statistics and the new, dangerous mixtures hitting the streets, such as xylazine-fentanyl concoctions. We're bringing the battle against this epidemic front and center, revealing how Texas is taking a stand with educational initiatives and life-saving measures like Narcan distribution.
This episode is a clarion call to action, shedding light on the trafficking networks that are funneling fentanyl into our communities, and the chilling effects of this potent drug. Through our conversation, you're equipped with the knowledge of what to watch for—the ominous "fentanyl lean" and other overdose symptoms that signal a need for rapid response. It’s a candid and necessary discussion that could make the difference in recognizing the emergency at hand, offering a beacon of hope as we stand united in the face of this relentless crisis. Join us to arm yourself with awareness, because understanding these dangers is the first step towards safeguarding our loved ones and neighbors.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the you Are Not Alone podcast. My name is Debbie Gold and I'm here with my co-host and son, greg, and we are so glad that you're here with us. Each week on this show, we will talk about informative issues, issues that will make you think and help you grow. It is our wish that you will find hope, encouragement and a little bit of Jesus in every episode. Hey y'all, we're back. Today we're going to be talking about fentanyl.
Speaker 2:Again.
Speaker 1:Right Back in February of 2023, we did an episode. It was episode 2. It was number 2. Yeah, fentanyl, and specifically we talked about what is fentanyl, what are the dangers, what are the different types and forms it comes in, where it comes from, signs of overdose and some rules that can save your life. And it was a lot of information, but it was information that we felt we needed to put out for our listeners.
Speaker 2:Potentially a life saving. Yes.
Speaker 1:Exactly so if you haven't listened to it, do so. It's full of, like I said, lots of useful information. So, sadly, fentanyl overdose is not on a decline, as we were hoping it would be. Yeah, it's worse, it's on an incline. And Milgrom from the DEA, which is the Drug Enforcement Administration Department, she says this Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered. Fentanyl is everywhere, from large metropolitan areas to rural America. No community is safe from this poison. We're going to take every opportunity to spread the word to prevent fentanyl related overdose death and poisonings from claiming scores of American lives every day. So in 2022, and I'm going to speak on Texas here, because we are in Texas Residents yeah, so in 2022, texas lost 2012 lives due to fentanyl overdose. Yeah, sad. And then in 2023, governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3908. Into play, and it did two things, or it does two things. It requires public schools to provide fentanyl awareness and abuse prevention to grades six or 12.
Speaker 2:That's really important Cause I mean think about high school. That's where peer pressuring happens.
Speaker 1:Try this, try this, try that all that stuff High school, middle school.
Speaker 2:That too, which is, yeah, even sad. I know kids that start doing drugs in middle school and I was like that's not good. But no, I mean in high school. You know peer pressure is everywhere and stuff and you don't know what you're getting into. You know, let's say, one of your friends that you don't know too well has some pills or whatever with my phone, pills or whatever and you know you're thinking about trying them and it's fentanyl. You know that's a fatal mistake right there, because you just you don't even know.
Speaker 1:No, you have no idea.
Speaker 2:And then the peer pressure on top of it. So people need to be aware and know what this stuff is doing to America.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. Nobody would take it. Yeah, no, we'll Just for taking it, yeah literally, but it's all coming through the cartels and they're getting it from China and they're producing these pills and tablets.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:And the other thing that House Bill 3908 does. It provides all 254 counties in Texas. Okay, we're a big state people. Yeah, we are, we're a big state. We're a whole lot of counties. Each county is supplied with 20,000 doses of Narcan. That's good. And if you don't know what Narcan is, it's the reverse and opioid overdose. And it's like a nasal spray.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just put it in the nose and then spray it. Usually it.
Speaker 1:You hold one nostril.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Because typically the person overdosing won't be able to do that.
Speaker 2:But yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It redos or reduces the effects of an opioid.
Speaker 1:Hopefully, hopefully, yeah, if the person is lucky right, and so most states are working on awareness campaigns like this. So praise God for that, that there's some work happening, and I think, the one thing I just wanna bring to everyone's attention, besides just fentanyl maybe a lot of people have heard about fentanyl. But yet people are still dying from it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just cut noodles and powders and stuff that you don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's scary.
Speaker 1:But anyway. So most recently, xylazine is being mixed with fentanyl, and so you might say what is xylazine? And this is known as Trank, and it's a very powerful sedative that's been approved by the FDA for veterinarian use.
Speaker 2:It's basically like a horse tranquilizer.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So extremely strong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you can tranquilize a horse, can you only imagine.
Speaker 2:What it does to a human.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And a horse? Is what? 3,000 pounds.
Speaker 1:Oh no, something like that A human's.
Speaker 2:What 150 to 200 usually. I mean, you can imagine.
Speaker 1:Not even some.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, the DEA says that in 2023, approximately get this people 20 in 2023, they said that approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills that they seized contained xylazine. So it's there and it's gonna be like when fentanyl first started it was there and not too much of it.
Speaker 2:Most people didn't know about it, people that got used to fentanyl. And then, with drugs, you have a tolerance, your tolerance builds, and then you need something else that's way stronger. Yo, I got some fentanyl mixed with horse strength.
Speaker 1:So you wanna try it. Sure, what would it do?
Speaker 2:I don't know, get you really high. Yeah, that's the addict's mind and at that point, if you're doing fentanyl or hard drugs, you're willing to try anything. At that point I feel like Right, that's true, you're so long gone.
Speaker 1:I had seen on the news they were doing a showing what was going on in San Francisco and literally and they were talking about this trank A lot of them weren't homeless people and whatnot, but they're laying on the streets and you can see their skin, your skin eats away.
Speaker 2:It's called the zombie drug. It's literally real life zombies, because it eats away your skin and just rots away your flesh. So, I mean you'll have sores, and sometimes you'll have homeless people out there that need amputations because their leg is literally about to fall off. All they care about is just smoking their fent. I guess I don't know. It's really sad.
Speaker 1:So this is really big. This is huge. This is not something you wanna be messing with, and this is why we got to stay away from the pills, because we just don't know what's in them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. You don't know where you're getting it from. You don't know who made them, who sourced them. There could be multiple places that you get stuff from and they could be passed on multiple times. I got this pill from this guy and then I give it to this guy this guy give it to that guy, and then that guy is going to sell it. So it's like you don't know where it's coming from. You don't know who made that, who pressed that pill, what their intentions are. Stay away from it. It's really scary.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I don't know what's happening with the federal government. I mean we have got to stop this coming into our country and I'm not sure what means are being taken. But I mean, first awareness is great and good.
Speaker 2:But then action is more important.
Speaker 1:We need action to stop it. Yeah it's getting crazy I've lost.
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't know, I didn't know them well, but I know two people from my high school that passed away from fent normal. At first people were saying it wasn't fent normal, he was doing different drugs, stuff like that. But then came out fent normal. I was like wow, he didn't know he was 19. So I was like, wow.
Speaker 1:So very sad.
Speaker 2:Life wasted.
Speaker 1:A life wasted. Yeah, speaking of that, the DEA, at their headquarters they have it's called the Faces of Fentanyl Wall and it's literally pictures of people that young people that have died of fentanyl that their parents have submitted and gave permission for that to be up Fentanyl Wall yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's really to commemorate the lives of those that we've lost to Fentanyl. And had they been aware of the possible dangers of taking a pill from an unknown source an unknown source they might not be on that wall right now. It just takes that one pill and what's really sad is how it's.
Speaker 2:on the incline, you know that wall or that post, you're just getting bigger.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, Go check it out on the DEA website. It's there. And then I was even.
Speaker 2:You know I was like, wow, I was even. You know, I was explaining to Chase, my little brother. I was explaining to him what we're going to be talking about and you know I was telling him people are mixing horse tranquilizer or, you know, vet tranquilizer with fentanyl. Chase was like why would you do that? I was like, well, think about it. It gives a stronger high and also it's very cheap. To do Like, let's say like you're a crappy drug dealer or whatever and you want to save money and you don't care about people's lives. You get some smarties like the candy. You know smarties. You crush that up and you press it into a pill. If you eat that smarties, it's not going to do anything, right? You add a little bit of fentanyl or horse tranquilizer. That thing is going to mess you up.
Speaker 2:So, you can literally just like, disguise drugs with that evil stuff and then sell it for profit. So it's a really sick and twisted way and there has to be a harsher punishment for these type of dealers and people that are I mean, killing people essentially. So it's really sad.
Speaker 1:And you know they're doing it. Why would you do that? They do it for the money. And the other thing, too, is that there are countries that want to see our young people go what eliminated. Yeah, and you know that's no line. I can't speak too big on that or what countries are. Why are you know any of that? But I have read that and I've heard about it I mean.
Speaker 2:So right now, 80% of right, let's say I don't know, I don't know how much, but a large percentage of fentanyl it's made in chinese labs. And those chinese laboratories they have written contracts with certain cartels based in mexico, right, so they, you know, you ship you know eight pounds of fentanyl. You get paid you know eight hundred thousand dollars. Right, so you have a little deal going back and forth Mexican drug cartels. They then take the fentanyl, they put it either into drugs or they just take it purely over the border. And what is our border look like right now? It's wide open. So it's so easy to just walk across with a backpack full of ten pounds of fentanyl. Or you know pills, you know Say, or that you're saying is not fentanyl, but the fentanyl, you know it's. It's open access right now. We have to put a stop to this because countless americans are dying from this.
Speaker 2:Well, and it's being smuggled into vehicles and it's so easy to do it right now because it's a wide open border yes, our border is not protected.
Speaker 1:It's not so.
Speaker 2:Twenty five states actually, you know, signed up against our current presidential administration, say, hey, enough is enough. You know right these migrants and these drugs. It's enough. So many people have just passed away from this evil drug, so and president biden has finally admitted that it is a problem yeah and which he started by signing off.
Speaker 1:Stop building the wall, exactly, anyways, we won't get into politics. So, but also, I want to just make a note this this indicates how important this is that the DEA has made August twenty first national fentanyl prevention and awareness day.
Speaker 2:I told chase that he literally was like that it's sad. I was like yeah it is a day for people passing away a fentanyl, like remembering them that we have a day for people passing away from a specific drug, not you know a disease that played.
Speaker 1:you know people a certain drug that's just that's nasty yeah, for sure, I wanted to talk a little bit great, and I know this is big for you to. But what are? What are the symptoms? What do they look like when someone is overdosing from fentanyl?
Speaker 2:so Me and my brother chase, I mean I've showed him videos of like how bad it's gotten in like Philadelphia, detroit and stuff, and when most people are on hard drugs fentanyl, tranquilizer stuff they could stand possibly, but they're going to be like leaning over and being chase of calling it like the fentanyl, the fentanyl lean. So the fentanyl lean the fentanyl lean basically yeah, so you'll be basically just like nodding off. In broad daylight you'll be standing lamp, but then, yeah, you'll be just hunched over and lamp, completely lamp. So yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm falling asleep, unconsciousness, because I mean, the thing is with fentanyl I've seen like documentaries and stuff on YouTube when addicts have interviewed, like gotten interviewed and stuff. They keep each other awake because if you fall asleep in fentanyl so dangerous your heartbeat slows down to where it just stops so you want to literally hey, wake up, wake up, wake up. You know they literally keep each other awake for that stuff, so that's how dangerous it is.
Speaker 1:Well, I got your back right no, they're like wake up.
Speaker 2:Wake up because, yeah, you don't want them to die. So that's how scary this stuff is Small, tiny pupils.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think the weaker. No, breathing that kind of ties into what you're saying, but how it affects your heart slows your heartbeat down so much is it just relaxes.
Speaker 2:open your own, to your body, and you can always tell what if you put your hand over someone's nose? And you can barely feel it.
Speaker 1:You can yeah, you can feel how well someone's breathing.
Speaker 2:Barely holding on. Yeah, the faintest pulse ever, or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, like gurgling sounds too.
Speaker 2:Some people call that the death rattle yeah, so. Lent body like most people are just some people, like you'll see on the streets that are just passed out.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, but you were talking about too when you said they just kind of lean out and they're just standing hunched over yeah it looks like they're like dead standing, so it's insane yeah.
Speaker 2:Cold or pale skin, I guess. I guess they turn white.
Speaker 1:The cold skin, you know, you can feel, feel yourself and then compare.
Speaker 2:They feel all clammy. Yeah, that's definitely never a good sign, no matter what I mean if you think about all that blood that was in your skin before it's going to your heart, because your heart's beating slower. You know it's working way harder to keep blood into it. So that's probably what's happening.
Speaker 1:Possibly.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I know discolored skin, especially like your lips and nails.
Speaker 2:I didn't know that your lips getting discolored. Like what color? Like white or whatever.
Speaker 1:I would just go much lighter yeah.
Speaker 2:Geez.
Speaker 1:But so let's, and then let's, let's just chat about, I mean thank.
Speaker 2:God, you kind of recognize the symptoms right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If it was something to where you don't even know you're overdosing until it kills you, you know that'd be some even worse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know you're not always going to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:The person. I mean, you could be just at school and you see somebody do that and you don't even know the person. But if you I've been on.
Speaker 2:You remember when I went to downtown Austin when I was working on the light fixtures and stuff. We were watching this, we were so we were doing like window tinting and stuff. We were taking the tin off the windows. Me and my buddy went down to 7-Eleven and there was this homeless guy and he was absolutely like rancid. He was on some hardcore drugs.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow it was fried.
Speaker 2:He was like 65.
Speaker 1:Pants were down to his ankles and then he had a blanket on.
Speaker 2:It was like mental health combined with drugs and stuff. But he was just going Dual diagnosis? Yeah, I mean we ignored him and then we go back up to the building and stuff and we can get a clear view of him from our. You know where we're working.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, you were on the what floor.
Speaker 2:Like the 17th floor, oh, ok, yeah, so we're just watching him down below and stuff. And then he literally he was like so messed up or something, he fell, he fell on the pavement or something, and then he literally just put the blanket over him and then just slept for like an hour and then just walked up and then just start doing circles again, just repeat and do them.
Speaker 1:So that's so sad. I know Exactly.
Speaker 2:So it's a mental health thing, and then it's a drug thing. So, and some people that they that stay out there. I mean, they want to be out there because I mean it's freedom.
Speaker 2:So especially in cities where you allow it. So San Francisco. I've literally heard an addict, a woman addict. She was like I can stay out here. I have a TV in my tent and I have a small grill behind my tent. All I do out a is pee, get high and eat. And I was like wow and like that's all, that's all life for them, that's all they want to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was like, wow, so some people choose to be out there. Other people they just, it's just, they have a combination of mental health and a drug addiction and they can't get on a stable foot. But it's sad.
Speaker 1:No, and they, and a lot of them, don't want to either, even if there was a place, you know they do offer places for people to come and get help and and they choose not to because it's just a different lifestyle. It's a different lifestyle, yeah you're.
Speaker 2:You're used to waking up at 6am, lighting up that crack pipe or you know doing something crazy, and then just doing nothing all day and scouring the city, hanging out with your friend doing you know whatever. But the thing is like you can make someone go into a rehab center, but they want to do it themselves. They have to want it themselves.
Speaker 1:Well it's. It's not that people don't want to, they can't. I've been reading, I'm reading a book called Sometimes dopamine nation and people are addicted and I'm not talking about just drugs and alcohol and I want to do some topics on this because it is very interesting.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about anything that we get addicted to games. I mean you call it what you want, but when you can't, you know it's an addiction in your mind. The dopamine and the receptors in your mind become to the point where the the pain overtakes the play. I mean, it's just interesting Phenomenon that people really need to hear about. And I'm not talking, I'm talking young people to that you, you know, when you say addiction, people think drugs are alcohol.
Speaker 1:There is, so it could be anything it's anything that you do Repetitively or maybe gets in the way of things that you maybe you should be doing right. So there's a good way to a simple way to look at it.
Speaker 2:But so yeah, you're right it's a, thing, but also it's physically addicting or it's physically demanding for them because think about opioid withdrawals. Apparently it's hell on earth and a lot of homeless people they know. If they go to like rehab center something, they have to get clean. And let's say you've been using hard drugs, pills or opiates or you know whatever it is For six months on the streets. If you go into that shelter and use nothing because it's restricted, right, you can't get drugs your body is probably going to either shut down or just go through hell for like five days and most people.
Speaker 2:They know that because they're addicts, right.
Speaker 1:And you can't do that alone, you need to be in a place a hospital, a detox center, whatever it's just so.
Speaker 2:it's such a different lifestyle yeah it really is yeah anyway, it's such a hard approach.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anyway. So let's, let's wrap it up and finish with you know what? What do you do if you see someone overdosing? Yeah, yeah, you see this.
Speaker 2:You see all the symptoms you get all the clues, all the signs, you're like, oh my goodness, this is happening. So I mean, the first thing you do really, you stay calm. Okay, my dad always told me, in situations where people are freaking out, you want to be the calmest one there, because you'll know what to do and you'll be able to think clearly and straight, instead of other people are just freaking out and make them their thoughts and all that. Stay calm, control the situation.
Speaker 2:So, that's the first thing you do, and then the second step. I mean 911, 911 yeah. And then scream Narcan most people nowadays they've heard. They've heard of Narcan itself, and it's actually pretty readily available. It is most CBS pharmacies, other gas stations. If you're in New York where a lot- of it does happen, they're gonna go to go to those sandwich shops. They have Narcan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're in all the schools.
Speaker 2:Now some people that are like nurses off duty. They like carry them like a purse stuff, just in case.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so they it is. But and then you talked about this, greg, try to keep that person awake and just don't let them go to sleep wake up, wake up just keep tapping on. You know, talk about whatever you can yeah, literally.
Speaker 2:Look at my eyes. Hey, keep your eyes open, yeah, my eyes. What's your name?
Speaker 1:what day is it?
Speaker 2:yeah, can run through through some of that right.
Speaker 1:If they're talking, they're awake and everything yeah, and then turn the person on their side to prevent choking a lot of times, if you overdose, you'll throw up.
Speaker 2:And if you, let's say, you overdose, right, you're gonna fall asleep, right, but then your body is gonna throw up because it's rejecting that poison. If you're on your back and you throw up, you're gonna choke on your own vomit, yeah, so you have to be on your side. So turn them on their side if they're choking.
Speaker 1:Well, just in general. I mean, turn them on their side, I would think. Don't wait till they start choking.
Speaker 2:Same with seizures sometimes in seizures, people try to swallow their own tongue right. That's like the body's natural instinct. So keep them on their side so they can't swallow their own tongue in the breathe wet or the death way is clear yeah, yeah, and then stay with the person until help gets there till the paramedics. Talk with them.
Speaker 1:I'm here for you yeah, just talk like you've never talked before exactly. Some of you don't have a problem with that, and some do so.
Speaker 2:There you go but at this time this person will literally thank you for saving their life. So it's like life or death yeah just be as nice as you can just be with them. Let them know that you're there for them right. I'm here, buddy, you know. Wake up. You know they're on the way, you know like that.
Speaker 1:So help us, here it's coming yeah.
Speaker 2:You got lucky this time, buddy. Yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, that's our show for today.
Speaker 2:I hope for a lot of good info. Yeah, I like that yeah, it was.
Speaker 1:it was a good Good talk today, greg and update good update yeah. Let's go be our take away.
Speaker 2:If you see Narcan, it's your call to action get a bottle of Narcan. Also tell people about this new tranquilizer stuff.
Speaker 1:Tell at least two people about Trank.
Speaker 2:I'd say 80%, about 80% of people. They know about fentanyl nowadays because it's you know in the news, on On your Instagram, all this stuff. But most people they don't know that Fentanyl is getting more scary. So I didn't even think it could get more scary.
Speaker 1:But it is right. So who would have thought? Right, yeah so xylazine is the name of Trank, but it's the how you spell. It is X, y, la, z, I, n, e and.
Speaker 2:And in Spanish it's called anesthesia de caballo, so that's the name for it All right, good job, greg.
Speaker 1:Yeah all right, so tell, tell some people about Trank, and if you're Wanting to know more about fentanyl or just curious about what we talked about, go back to episode number two, back in February Of 2023.
Speaker 2:That breaks down fentanyl to itself, not Trank fentanyl. Yeah, just fentanyl Just by itself, what to do someone's ODing, kind of similar, but it gives a lot of good details.
Speaker 1:So and just a lot of good information, just.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good information in general.
Speaker 1:So All right, well, wow, thank you so much, jesus, for this episode. It's been wonderful. You all remember that you are not alone and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 2:All right.